Lion-class battleship

Right elevation and plan of the 1938 version of the Lion design
Class overview
NameLion-class battleship
Operators Royal Navy
Preceded byKing George V class
Succeeded byHMS Vanguard
Planned6
Completed0
Cancelled6
General characteristics (1938 design)
TypeFast battleship
Displacement
Length
Beam105 ft (32 m)
Draught33 ft 6 in (10.2 m) (deep load)
Installed power
Propulsion4 shafts; 4 × steam turbine sets
Speed30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph)
Range14,000 nmi (26,000 km; 16,000 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement1,680
Armament
Armour
General characteristics (1942 design)
Displacement
  • 42,550 long tons (43,230 t) (standard)
  • 48,890 long tons (49,670 t) (deep load)
Length
  • 780 ft (237.7 m) (waterline)
  • 793 ft (241.7 m) (o/a)
Beam108 ft (32.9 m)
Draught34 ft 3 in (10.4 m) (deep load)
Installed power
  • 130,000 shp (97,000 kW)
  • 8 × Admiralty 3-drum boilers
Propulsion4 shafts; 4 × steam turbine sets
Speed28.25 knots (52.32 km/h; 32.51 mph)
Range16,500 nmi (30,600 km; 19,000 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement1,750
Armament
  • 3 × triple 16 in guns
  • 8 × twin 5.25 in DP guns
  • 9 × octuple, 1 × quadruple 2-pdr AA guns
Armour
  • Belt: 6–14.7 in (152–373 mm)
  • Deck: 2.5–6 in (64–152 mm)
  • Barbettes: 12–15 in (305–381 mm)
  • Gun turrets: 7–15 in (178–381 mm)
  • Conning tower: 3–4.5 in (76–114 mm)
  • Bulkheads: 4–12 in (102–305 mm)

The Lion class was a class of six fast battleships designed for the Royal Navy (RN) in the late 1930s. They were a larger, improved version of the preceding King George V class, with 16-inch (406 mm) guns. Only two ships were laid down before the Second World War began in September 1939 and a third was ordered during the war, but their construction was suspended shortly afterwards. The design was modified in light of war experience in 1942, but the two ships already begun were scrapped later in the year.

None of the other ships planned were laid down, although there was a proposal in 1941 to modify one of the suspended ships into a hybrid battleship-aircraft carrier with two 16-inch gun turrets and a flight deck. Preliminary work for a new design began in 1944 and continued for the next year or so until the RN realised that they were unaffordable in the post-war financial environment.