Early Washington Treaty battleships differ from the later treaty-era American ships that survive today, making Rodney and Nelson unusually valuable examples. Rodney's wartime service, including the destruction of Bismarck, adds an operational story to the treaty history embodied in her design. Her hull was younger than Warspite's and had been worn by one world war rather than two. Those circumstances made Rodney a plausible second museum candidate had Britain already chosen to preserve Warspite.
Notable Point · 50:52-53:07
HMS Rodney as a Washington Treaty battleship
Rodney would preserve the unusually constrained design logic of the Washington naval treaties as well as her operational role in the sinking of Bismarck.