Why the aging Revenge class remained useful

The ships often called the R class were a cheaper, more conventional development of the Queen Elizabeth design. Their origins lay in the pre-First World War 'We Want Eight and We Won't Wait' campaign, in which public pressure helped turn a dispute over four or six battleships into a larger programme. By the Second World War the ships were slow and intended for replacement by the King George V class, but dated did not mean harmless. A German surface raider meeting one on convoy duty still faced 15-inch guns and the prospect of crippling damage even if it could win. Obsolete against newer battleships, the R class remained useful as a deterrent escort.