HMS Ramillies was one of five Revenge-class super-dreadnought battleships built for the Royal Navy during the First World War. They were developments of the Queen Elizabeth-class battleships, with reductions in size and speed to offset increases in the armour protection whilst retaining the same main battery of eight 15-inch (381 mm) guns. Completed in late 1917, Ramillies saw no combat during the war as both the British and the German fleets had adopted a more cautious strategy by this time owing to the increasing threat of naval mines and submarines.
Ramillies at anchor during the First World War, painted in dazzle camouflage
Painting of Ramillies depicting the vibrant colours and irregular shapes that characterised dazzle camouflage during the First World War
Ramillies, probably in the late 1910s or 1920s
Ramillies at Greenock in 1944. Note the radar jammers installed aft of the mainmast as a countermeasure to German Henschel HS293 radio guided missiles
The Revenge class, sometimes referred to as the Royal Sovereign class or the R class, consisted of five Dreadnought battleships built for the Royal Navy in the 1910s. All of the ships were completed to see service during the First World War. There were originally to have been eight of the class, but two were later redesigned, becoming the Renown-class battlecruisers, while the other, which was to have been named HMS Resistance, was cancelled outright. The design was based on that of the preceding Queen Elizabeth class, but with reductions in size and speed to make them more economical to build.
Royal Sovereign at Philadelphia, September 1943
Diagram of the Queen Elizabeth class, which provided the basis for the Revenge design
Royal Oak's aft pair of turrets
Revenge at sea in 1940