Dreadnought's laying down in 1905 and Ramillies's commissioning in September 1917 frame the comparison. Dreadnought, the Bellerophons, the St Vincents, Neptune, Colossus and Hercules bring the running count to ten battleships. The Orions, King George Vs and Iron Dukes raise it to twenty-two. Agincourt, Erin and Canada, originally ordered for other countries, take the Royal Navy total to twenty-five. Five completed Queen Elizabeths and five R-class ships bring it to thirty-five battleships. Twelve battlecruisers make forty-seven British capital ships within roughly twelve years. Adding ships delivered to other powers takes the total above fifty. This pace helps explain how available technology and industrial capacity allowed major design changes to spread quickly through the fleet.
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Britain's rapid capital-ship expansion
A class-by-class count explains how Britain assembled most of its dreadnought fleet within roughly twelve years.