Even in 1921 there was a great need for more British floating docks of the largest description. This was more especially apparent on the Clyde, where there was no dock, either floating or graving, which could take capital ships.
The German ships were not handicapped in this way, and most of their later capital ships had widths of between 90 and 100 ft., which enabled them to carry more armour, and as far as it is possible to judge, they stood a good deal of battering without showing any lack of stability, while they proved to be good gun platforms, at any rate for work in the North Sea.
Immediately after war was declared great pressure was exercised to complete the ships then building for the British navy, and to order such other vessels as could be designed and finished in the shortest possible time. The view held in the early days that the war would only last a year necessarily coloured all that was done in the way of naval design and construction. Generally speaking, therefore, the construction of new battleships was ruled out. With the acquisition of the" Agincourt,"" Erin "and " Canada," which were building in England for foreign Governments in private yards, and in view of the certain early completion of the remaining two vessels of the " Iron Duke" class, shortly to be followed by the vessels of the " Queen Elizabeth " class, Great Britain had a great preponderance of heavier capital ships, or Dreadnoughts, over the enemy; and as this class of ship takes longer to design and construct than any other, it was obviously a prudent course to concentrate on such types as were specially needed and could be built more quickly.
It should also be remembered that the menace of the submarine, which was from the first beginning to loom as a vital factor in the war, pointed in the direction of large numbers of patrol boats, torpedo-boat destroyers, and smaller types of vessels to deal with this menace. No time, therefore, was lost in placing orders for additional British destroyers, submarines, light cruisers, sloops, mine-sweepers, patrol boats, etc.; and it very soon became clear that the Royal dockyards and the regular warship- building contractors would not be able to cope with the mass of new construction that was required. Accordingly, orders for many of the last-named classes were placed with builders who had hitherto only been accustomed to mercantile work. With the arrangements that were made, however, for superintending and overseeing the work by the Admiralty, with the assistance of the registration societies Lloyd's and the British Corporation
very little difficulty was experienced in getting the work satisfactorily carried out by the firms new to this class of shipbuilding, and success attended the arrangements made.
Table II. gives the number and tonnage of vessels added to the British navy during the war. The total number (including other classes besides those in the table) was 1,513, of approximately 2,356,000 tons displacement.
TABLE II. British Warships Completed and Lost Between Aug. 4 1914 and Nov. II 1918.
| Completions | Losses | |||
| No. | Approx. Displacement | No. | Approx. Displacement | |
| Battleships | 15 | 395,ooo | 13 | 201,000 |
| Battle cruisers | 3 | 81,500 | 3 | 63,000 |
| Cruisers | 3 | 56,500 | 13 | 158,500 |
| Light cruisers .... | 36 | 143,000 | 12 | 46,000 |
| Monitors | 40 | 126,000 | 6 | 14,000 |
| Aircraft-carriers .... | 8 | 67,500 | 3 | 27,500 |
| Flotilla leaders .... | 28 | 45,500 | 3 | 5,000 |
| Torpedo-boat destroyers . | 255 | 273,000 | 64 | 52,000 |
| Submarines | 146 | 151-500 | 54 | 43,500 |
| P. and P. C. boats | 63 | 40,000 | 2 | 1,000 |
| Sloops | 124 | 155,500 | 18 | 22,500 |
| Paddle mine-sweepers . | 34 | 27,500 | ||
| Twin screw mine-sweepers . | 55 | 43,000 | ||
| Patrol gunboats .... | 3 | 27,000 | ||
| Oilers and petrol carriers . | 67 | 436,000 | ||
| Whalers, trawlers and drifters . | 382 | 173.500 | ||
Battleships. To take ships added to the British navy during the war in the proper order, it is necessary to begin with battleships of the " Iron Duke " class. The particulars of Dreadnoughts built after the " Hercules " are given in Table III.
The " Iron Duke " class (see fig. i), of which there were four, followed the " King George V." class, both in sequence of time and in general characteristics. The same main armament, similarly arranged, with the five turrets all on the centre line of the ship, was adhered to, the chief difference in the " Iron Dukes " being that instead of the 4-in. guns forming the secondary armament, a battery of 12 6-in. guns protected by 6-in. armour was finally decided upon. The protection also was somewhat increased over that of the " King George V.," involving an increase in dimensions over any previous British battleships. Two of the class were laid down in Jan. 1912 and two in May, the four vessels being completed ,in March, June, Oct. and Nov. 1914, so that two were ready just
TABLE III. Particulars of British Battleships.
| Vessel | Date of Launch | Length between perpendiculars; (length over all) | Breadth | Mean Draught | Load Displacement: Tons | Speed: Knots | HorsePower | Armament | Thickest side of Armour |
| " Orion " | 1910 | ||||||||
| "Thunderer" | 1911 | 545 ft. (581 ft.) | 88 ft. 6 in. | 27 ft. 6 in. | 22,500 | 21 | 27,000 | 10 13'5-in. 16 4-in. 32½-in. T. T. |
12 in. |
| "Conqueror" | 1911 | ||||||||
| " Monarch " | 1911 | ||||||||
| " King George V." | 1911 | ||||||||
| " Centurion " | 1911 | 555ft- (597ft.6in.) | 89ft. | 27 ft. 6 in. | 23,000 | 21 | 27,000 | 10 13'5-in- 16 4-in. 32 1 -in. T. T. |
12 in. |
| "Ajax" | 1912 | ||||||||
| " Audacious " | 1912 | ||||||||
| " Iron Duke " | 1912 | ||||||||
| " Marlborough ". | 1912 | 580 ft. (622 ft. 9 in.) | 90 ft. | 28ft. | 25,000 | 21 | 29,000 | 10 13'5-in. 12 6-m. 42 1 -in. T. T. |
12 in. |
| " Emperor of India". | 1913 | ||||||||
| " Benbow " . | 1913 | ||||||||
| " Queen Elizabeth". | 1913 | ||||||||
| " Warspite " | 1913 | ||||||||
| " Barham " | 1914 | 600ft. (643ft.9in.) | 90 ft. 6 in. | 28 ft. 9 in. | 27,500 | 25 | 75,000 | 8 is-in. 12 6-in. 42i-in. T. T. |
13 in. |
| "Valiant " . | 1914 | ||||||||
| "Malaya " . | 1915 | ||||||||
| " Royal Sovereign ". | 1915 | ||||||||
| " Royal Oak " . | 1914 | ||||||||
| " Revenge ". | 1915 | 580 ft. (624ft-3in.) | 88 ft. 6 in. 102 ft. with bulge. |
28 ft. 6 in. | 25,750 | 23 | 40,000 | 8 15-in. 14 6-in. 42 1 -in. T. T. |
13 in. |
| " Resolution " | 1915 | ||||||||
| " Ramillies " | 1916 | ||||||||
| " Agincourt " | 1913 | 632ft. (67ift.6in.) | 89 ft. | 27 ft. | 27,500 . | 22 | 34,000 | 14 12-in.20 6-in 32i-in. T. T. |
9 in. |
| " Erin " | 1913 | 525 ft. (559 ft. 6 in.) | 91 ft. 7 in. | 28 ft. 6 in. | 23,000 | 21 | 26,000 | 10-13-5-in. 16-6-in 42i-in. T. T. |
12 in. |
| "Canada". | 1913 | 625 ft. (661 ft.) | 92 ft. | 28 ft. 6 in. | 28,000 | 22¾ | 37,000 | 10 14-in.i6 6-in 42l-in. T. T. |
9 in. |
