After service as a training ship and royal yacht, Renown was offered for sale in 1913 and partially dismantled later that year. She sold at auction in 1914 for a scrap price of 39,000 pounds and was broken up at Blyth. Fisher had helped shape Renown as Third Sea Lord, then made her his first flagship and took her from a colonial station to the Mediterranean Fleet, then the Royal Navy's premier command. That personal connection helps explain why he kept finding new work for her after Dreadnought and the battlecruisers had overtaken her original military role. His patronage prolonged the ship's career.
Chapter · 29:54-32:47
Why Renown mattered so much to Fisher
Renown outlived her original military niche because Fisher kept finding roles for the flagship he had helped shape.