Was the Royal Navy planning to give all five Queen Elizabeth-class battleships the same major reconstruction?
Short answerNo; only part of the class was expected to receive that standard because major refits competed with new battleship construction for the same yards and resources.
NotesPlans appear to have covered only part of the Queen Elizabeth class for the most extensive Queen Elizabeth-style reconstruction. Warspite already followed a different refit path, while the sequence for the remaining ships depended on yard availability. The same facilities and skilled labour were also needed for King George V construction, Vanguard-type ships, and the projected Lion class. If new capital ships had entered service on the intended rhythm, older unmodernized battleships could have retired instead of consuming scarce reconstruction capacity. Refit policy was therefore a fleet-renewal and industrial scheduling problem as well as a judgment about which old ship deserved improvement.