The Royal Navy wanted capable hulls in the water quickly, and Revenge and Royal Oak were completed in time to fight at Jutland. That construction achievement is the strongest defence of the R class. It still does not rescue the design from the charge that it was a sharp step down from the Queen Elizabeth standard. The comparison separates the immediate value of wartime availability from the longer-term quality of the fleet being built.
Chapter · 7:52-9:31
Quantity, speed, and Jutland service
The video acknowledges the speed-of-construction argument while still judging the R class a poor follow-on battleship design.