Reconstruction could remake an old warship

A refit repairs and updates a ship, while reconstruction can alter protection, machinery, arrangement, and performance on a much larger scale. The Royal Navy had long rebuilt wooden warships while retaining their names and institutional identities, even when little original timber survived. Treaty permission to reconstruct could preserve a nominally old capital ship while renewing much of its combat value. Hood, Renown, Repulse, and the Kongō class therefore need to be judged by more than their launch dates.