Renown-class battlecruiser

HMS Renown as completed in 1916
Class overview
Name:	HMS Renown
Operators:
Preceded by:	HMS Tiger
Succeeded by:	Courageous class
Built:	1915–16
In service:	1916–45
Planned:	2
Completed:	2
Lost:	1
Scrapped:	1
General characteristics (Renown as built)
Type:	Battlecruiser
Displacement:	27,200 long tons (27,600 t) (normal) 36,800 long tons (37,400 t) (deep load)
Length:	750 ft 2 in (228.7 m) (p.p.) 794 ft 1.5 in (242.0 m) (o.a.)
Beam:	90 ft 1.75 in (27.5 m)
Draught:	27 ft (8.2 m)
Installed power:	112,000 shp (84,000 kW)
Propulsion:	4 × shafts, 2 × Steam turbine sets, 42 × water-tube boilers
Speed:	31.5 knots (58.3 km/h; 36.2 mph)
Range:	4,000 nmi (7,400 km; 4,600 mi) at 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph)
Crew:	953 1223 (1919)
Armament:	3 × 2 – BL 15-inch Mk I guns 5 × 3, 2 × 1 – BL 4-inch Mk IX guns 2 × 1 – 3-inch anti-aircraft guns 2 × 1 – submerged 21-inch torpedo tubes
Armour:	Belt: 3–6 in (76–152 mm) Decks: 1–2.5 in (25–64 mm) Barbettes: 4–7 in (102–178 mm) Gun turrets: 7–9 in (178–229 mm) Conning tower: 10 in (254 mm) Bulkheads: 3–4 in (76–102 mm)

The Renown class comprised a pair of battlecruisers built during the First World War for the Royal Navy. They were originally laid down as improved versions of the Revenge-class battleships. Their construction was suspended on the outbreak of war on the grounds they would not be ready in a timely manner. Admiral Lord Fisher, upon becoming First Sea Lord, gained approval to restart their construction as battlecruisers that could be built and enter service quickly. The Director of Naval Construction (DNC), Eustace Tennyson-D'Eyncourt, quickly produced an entirely new design to meet Admiral Lord Fisher's requirements and the builders agreed to deliver the ships in 15 months. They did not quite meet that ambitious goal, but they were delivered a few months after the Battle of Jutland in 1916. They were the world's largest and fastest capital ships upon completion.

Repulse was the only ship of her class to see combat in the First World War when she participated in the Second Battle of Heligoland Bight in 1917. Both ships were reconstructed twice between the wars; the 1920s reconstruction increased their armour protection and made lesser improvements, while the 1930s reconstruction was much more thorough, especially for Renown. Repulse accompanied the battlecruiser Hood during the Special Service Squadron's round-the-world cruise in 1923–24 and protected British interests during the Spanish Civil War between 1936–39. Renown frequently conveyed royalty on their foreign tours and served as flagship of the Battlecruiser Squadron when Hood was refitting.