Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Q&A · 5:14-7:03

More Queen Elizabeths and the puzzle of a sixth ship

Repeated batches offered a route to improved machinery, while Agincourt's late addition raises questions about the intended successor.

HMS AgincourtNaval ProcurementQueen Elizabeth Class BattleshipsShipbuilding ProgrammesSmall Tube Boilers
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Question

Could Britain have built more Queen Elizabeth batches and introduced small-tube boilers in a later ship?

Short answer

Yes, further batches were a plausible option, but Agincourt's addition after the Revenge orders and her place as a sixth ship make the intended programme less straightforward.

Notes

Repeated Queen Elizabeth batches could have combined familiar guns and protection with improved machinery once it became available. The proposal is to build a substantial class while introducing small-tube boilers in a later ship. Agincourt complicates that sequence because she was ordered after the Revenge programme had already begun. A sixth Queen Elizabeth also fitted neither a four-ship division nor an eight-ship squadron neatly. Those circumstances leave room for a more ambitious successor, but they do not establish her final design.