HMS Royal Sovereign (05)

Battleship [ 1916 ]

HMS Royal Sovereign battleship served the British Royal Navy through both World Wars and was leased to the Soviet Navy before the end of the latter.

Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 08/14/2017 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site.

VIEW SPECIFICATIONS [+]

The Revenge-class battleships of the British Royal Navy were ordered during the run-up to World War 1 (1914-1918). The class was to have eight total warships but one was eventually cancelled (HMS Resistance) and the other two were redrawn to form the new Renown-class. Thus only five of the original Revenge ships were constructed - including HMS Royal Sovereign (05).

HMS Royal Sovereign was built at the Portsmouth Royal Dockyard and saw her keel laid down on January 15th, 1914. She was launched on April 29th, 1915 - as World War 1 raged - and commissioned into service during May 1916. She went on to survive the conflict, steamed on into the interwar years and saw World War 2 (1939-1945) service with both the Royal Navy and the Soviet Navy (the latter as "Arkhangelsk") from 1944 onward. She was returned to the Royal Navy in early-1949 and scrapped shortly thereafter.

As completed, Royal Sovereign held a displacement of 30,450 tons and featured a length of 620.6 feet, a beam of 88.5 feet and a draught of 33.6 feet. Power stemmed from 18 x Babcock & Wilcox boiler units feeding 4 x steam turbines developing 40,000 horsepower to 4 x shafts. Performance included speeds nearing 23 knots and a range out to 8,000 miles when cruising at 10 knots. Her crew numbered 1,240 personnel. Armor protection reached 13" at the belt and up to 4 inches along the deck. The barbettes were covered in up to 10" of armor and the gun turrets saw protection reach 13 inches. The conning tower held up to 11 inches and the bulkheads were reinforced up to 6 inches.©MilitaryFactory.com

Installed armament featured 8 x 15" main guns arranged as four twin-gunned turrets. There were 14 x 6" guns positioned at single-gunned turrets about the superstructure and 2 x 76mm 20 cwt guns (in single-gunned mountings) were used for Anti-Aircraft (AA) service. 4 x 3-pounder guns were carried as were 4 x 21" torpedo tubes.

During World War 1 HMS Royal Sovereign was not yet ready for primetime service so she missed out on actions in the Battle of Jutland - the largest naval confrontation of the war. After the war she lost her 3" guns in favor of 2 x QF 4" Mk V guns and served with the Atlantic Fleet into 1926 before being placed in reserve. During this downtime she was refitted (1929) which included the removal of some 6" guns and addition of more 4" guns. She joined the Mediterranean Fleet and was modernized for the new decade, gaining "pom-pom" guns in 1932 and losing some of her torpedo-launching capability. In 1937, work began on deleting the remaining torpedo armament.

During her World War 2 service, her armament was once-again revised. In 1941, 10 x 20mm Oerlikon guns were installed to improve her AA protection. More pom-pom guns were installed the following year and, in 1943, she gained even more 20mm weapons. Her initial contributions were in the convoy escort role as part of the Home Fleet. She was relocated to the Mediterranean as the war progressed and based at Alexandria. She participated in the Battle of Calabria (July 1940) but claimed no foes. In August 1940, she survived an Italian submarine attack before returning to the Atlantic. From there she was assigned to the Pacific Theater to thwart any Japanese advance on British interests.

Having survived her service in the Pacific, Indian Ocean and Middle East, she was returned to British home waters. On May 30th, 1944 she was officially transferred to the Soviet Navy as her usefulness in the Royal Navy ranks had all but ended for the tired ship. She served as Flag Ship for her new owners and was used to protect inbound Allied convoys attempting to reinforce the Soviet supplies - this ended her tenure in World War 2. On February 4th, 1949, she was handed back to the British. Her condition was such that there was no saving the steel beast and she was struck from the Naval Register, officially retired and sold for scrapping.©MilitaryFactory.com

Note: The above text is EXCLUSIVE to the site www.MilitaryFactory.com. It is the product of many hours of research and work made possible with the help of contributors, veterans, insiders, and topic specialists. If you happen upon this text anywhere else on the internet or in print, please let us know at MilitaryFactory AT gmail DOT com so that we may take appropriate action against the offender / offending site and continue to protect this original work.

Specifications

Service Year

1916

Origin

United Kingdom

Complement

1,240
PERSONNEL

Class

Revenge-class

Number-in-Class

5
VESSELS

Ships-in-Class

HMS Revenge (06); HMS Royal Sovereign (05); HMS Ramilles (07); HMS Resolution (09); HMS Royal Oak (08)

United Kingdom; Soviet Union (as Arkhangelsk)

(OPERATORS list includes past, present, and future operators when applicable)

✓ Offshore Bombardment
Offshore bombardment / attack of surface targets / areas primarily through onboard ballistic weaponry.

✓ Land-Attack
Offshore strike of surface targets primarily through onboard missile / rocket weaponry.

✓ Maritime Patrol
Active patroling of vital waterways and maritime areas; can also serve as local deterrence against airborne and seaborne threats.

✓ Airspace Denial / Deterrence
Neutralization or deterrence of airborne elements through onboard ballistic of missile weaponry.

✓ Fleet Support
Serving in support (either firepower or material) of the main surface fleet in Blue Water environments.

✓ Flag Ship / Capital Ship
Serving in the fleet Flag Ship role or Capital Ship in older warship designs / terminology.

Length

624.2 ft
190.26 m

Beam

88.5 ft
26.97 m

Draught

28.5 ft
8.69 m

Displacement

30,860
tons

Installed Power: 18 x Water-tube boilers feeding 4 x steam turbines developing 40,000 shaft horsepower to 4 x shafts.

Surface Speed

23.0 kts
(26.5 mph)

Range

4,171 nm
(4,800 mi | 7,725 km)

As Built:

8 x 15" (381mm) main guns

14 x 6" (152mm) guns

2 x 3" (76mm) guns

4 x 3-pdr cannons

4 x 21" (533mm) torpedo tubes

1924:

2 x 4" QF Mk V guns replaced 3" guns; more added in 1927-1928.

1932:

2 x 2-pounder "pom-pom" guns added

Removal of aft torpedo tubes

1937:

8 x 4" QF Mk XVI guns added

Removal of forward torpedo tubes

1941:

10 x 20mm Oerlikon AA guns added

1942:

2 x 2-pounder "pom-pom" guns added

1943:

6 x 20mm Oerlikon AA guns added

Supported Types

Graphical image of a historical warship turreted main gun armament

Graphical image of an aircraft automatic cannon

Graphical image of an aircraft aerial torpedo

(Not all weapon types may be represented in the showcase above)

None.

Military lapel ribbon for the Cold War period

Military lapel ribbon for early warship designs

Military lapel ribbon for the Falklands War

Military lapel ribbon for the 1991 Gulf War

Military lapel ribbon for the Korean War

Military lapel ribbon representing modern aircraft

Military lapel ribbon for the Attack on Pearl Harbor

Military lapel ribbon for the Russian Invasion of Ukraine

Military lapel ribbon for the Vietnam War

Military lapel ribbon for the World War 1

Military lapel ribbon for the World War 2

Ribbon graphics not necessarily indicative of actual historical campaign ribbons. Ribbons are clickable to their respective naval campaigns / operations / periods.

Images Gallery

1 / 1

Image from the Public Domain.

Disclaimer | Privacy Policy | Cookies

2024 Military Pay Chart Military Ranks DoD Dictionary Conversion Calculators Military Alphabet Code Military Map Symbols

The "Military Factory" name and MilitaryFactory.com logo are registered ® U.S. trademarks protected by all applicable domestic and international intellectual property laws. All written content, illustrations, and photography are unique to this website (unless where indicated) and not for reuse/reproduction in any form. Material presented throughout this website is for historical and entertainment value only and should not to be construed as usable for hardware restoration, maintenance, or general operation. We do not sell any of the items showcased on this site. Please direct all other inquiries to militaryfactory AT gmail.com. No A.I. was used in the generation of this content; site is 100% curated by humans.

Part of a network of sites that includes GlobalFirepower, a data-driven property used in ranking the top military powers of the world, WDMMA.org (World Directory of Modern Military Aircraft), WDMMW.org (World Directory of Modern Military Warships), SR71blackbird.org, detailing the history of the world's most iconic spyplane, and MilitaryRibbons.info, cataloguing military medals and ribbons. Special Interest: RailRoad Junction, the locomotive encyclopedia.

©2023 www.MilitaryFactory.com • All Rights Reserved • Content ©2003-2023 (20yrs)