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The ''Revenge''-class battleships were five Battleship s of the Royal Navy , ordered as World War I loomed on the horizon, and launched in 1914–1916. There were originally to have been eight of the class, but two were later redesigned, becoming the ''Renown''-class Battlecruiser s and the other, which was to have been named ''Resistance'' , was cancelled. DESIGN The ships of the class were slower and smaller than the preceding ''Queen Elizabeth''-class battleships. Despite sometimes being referred to as the "''Royal Sovereign''-class", official documents from World War I clearly state that the class was known as the ''Revenge'' class. They were envisaged partially due to fears of the ''Queen Elizabeth'' class' total reliance on oil as its fuel source, which was a first for a British class of ''Dreadnought'' battleships. At that time, oil could only be obtained from overseas sources, while high-quality coal was readily available in the British Isles, and there seemed to be a possibility that oil supplies might not be able to be maintained during wartime, thus placing crippling restrictions on the usefulness of the five ''Queen Elizabeths''. As a response to these concerns the ''Revenge'' class was designed to be able to use both coal and oil as its fuel source. They were also designed to be cheaper than the ''Queen Elizabeths''. This was achieved by reducing their size and using lower power engines - their slim single funnel design makes them easy to distinguish from the ''Queen Elizabeths'', which had twin funnels (or thick trunked funnels after being rebuilt during the interwar years). The armour was very different: the armoured deck was raised much higher in the ship, and the side armour was much more extensive at its full thickness of 13 inches (330 mm). This scheme was chosen since, at the time the ''Revenges'' were being designed, it was still believed that any major fleet-to-fleet engagement would take place at relatively close ranges and that, as at the Battle Of Tsushima , lighter calibre quick-firing guns would be responsible for most of the damage inflicted upon enemy ships. This is why the ''Revenges'' and some of their contemporaries were fitted with 6 inch secondary batteries, which were somewhat too heavy to be of practical use against light craft such as destroyers. Additionally, this change in the armour layout was a cost-saving measure. The ''Queen Elizabeth'' had plates that tapered at the top and bottom of the armour belt, and tapered armour was extremely expensive to produce. Overall, it was probably an effective armouring scheme which was made obsolescent by developments in naval gunnery and tactics that, unfortunately, occurred almost immediately after the ships entered service and that, ultimately, did not lend itself to the upgrades necessitated by WWII-era weapons. The major flaw in the class was the deliberately reduced stability, reduced so as to give the ships a slow rolling motion to make gunnery easier. This made it almost impossible to update them. In addition it was not economically possible to fit more powerful machinery later in their lives. Anti-torpedo bulges were included, which provided superb protection against attacks by torpedo for its time, but proved to be not enough for ''Royal Oak'' when she was torpedoed in 1939 due to the increasing power of Torpedo warheads. Due to their smaller size, at 624 ft (190 m), which still dwarfed anything rival navies had at the time they entered service, conditions were decidedly more cramped for the crew of a ''Revenge''-class battleship compared to the ''Queen Elizabeths''. SERVICE Only two ships of the class, ''Revenge'' and ''Royal Oak'', were ready in time for the Battle Of Jutland on May 31, 1916. During the engagement, neither ship suffered damage nor casualties. Unlike ''Queen Elizabeths'', the ''Revenges'' were not given major reconstructions between the two World Wars. In fact, apart from some minor upgrades and conversion to be entirely oil-fuelled, they remained very much unchanged until the Second World War began. Partly this was because of the expense involved in giving them a thorough modernization; what money the Royal Navy received for this purpose was better spent on the ''Queen Elizabeths'' which, because of their higher speed and better armour protection, had retained their fighting value better. In addition, the ''Revenges'' were scheduled to be replaced by the new ''Lion'' class capital ships as they came into service. However, the coming of the Second World War resulted in the cancellation of the ''Lions'', leaving the ''Revenges'' to remain in service despite their limited value in the face of advances in naval technology. All ships of the class were reduced to subsidiary roles during World War II , with some becoming bombardment ships, taking part in the Normandy Landings , and even the hunt for the Bismarck . The demise of the ''Revenge'' class and others soon after the war showed the advent of the aircraft-carrier as the new Queen of the Seas; though it must be said, the contribution the dreadnoughts made to the Royal Navy's history was immense. Churchill writes that they were a constant anxiety, and he witnessed the Admiralty keep as many thousands of miles between them and the enemy as possible. However, they were valuable as second-class battleships, performing escort and other routine duties that freed up the front-line ships. The ''Revenge'' class brings to a close the tale of Royal Navy World War I battleship construction. For subsequent British capital ships, see ''Renown'' class battlecruisers that fought in WWI, HMS ''Hood'' which was laid down during WWI, the ''Nelson'' class of battleships laid down in 1922, the ''King George V'' class built before WWII and the world's last battleship, HMS ''Vanguard'' . For other battleships that were acquired as "war purchases", see HMS ''Erin'' , HMS ''Canada'' , and HMS ''Agincourt'' . SHIPS OF THE CLASS
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