Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Q&A · 1:16:32-1:17:37

Why is King George V's belt quoted as both 14.7 and 15 inches?

The 15-inch figure rounds a 14.7-inch equivalent, while the original British procurement specification expressed armor by weight over an area.

King George V Class Battleships (1939)Naval ArmourNaval HistoriographyShip Design
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Question

Was the King George V-class belt 14.7 inches or 15 inches thick?

Short answer

The comparison uses 14.7 inches; some accounts round it to 15. British armor orders specified weight over an area, which historians convert into thickness for comparison.

Notes

The King George V-class belt figure given here is 14.7 inches, with some sources rounding it to 15. Royal Navy armor orders specified weight over a defined area. Historians convert such specifications into familiar inch measurements to compare navies that ordered armor differently. Those figures are standardized equivalents and should not be mistaken for the language of the original order.