By the time the Queen Elizabeth-class battleships were laid down in 1913, oil firing had been tested for years and the Fuel Commission had issued successive reports. The class shows that the technology had moved beyond its experimental infancy, even if the supporting system was not fully mature. Capital ships could not safely depend on an unproven fuel network because failure would compromise operations, prestige, and national security. Oil also improved readiness: a tender could refill a ship through hoses, while recoaling a battlecruiser after operations could leave it unavailable for days.
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The Queen Elizabeth class marked oil's operational maturity
The Queen Elizabeth class was the capital-ship expression of more than a decade of trials and infrastructure investment.