King George V Class Battleship (1939)

King George V Class Battleship (1939)

The King George V-class battleships were the most modern British battleships used during World War II. Five ships of this class were commissioned: King George V (1940), Prince of Wales (1941), Duke of York (1941), Howe (1942) and Anson (1942).

The Washington Naval Treaty of 1922 limited all of the number, displacement, and armaments of warships built following its ratification, and this was extended by the First London Naval Treaty but these treaties were due to expire in 1936. With increased tension between Britain, the United States, Japan, France and Italy, it was supposed by the designers of these battleships that the treaty might not be renewed and the ships of the King George V-class were designed with this possibility in mind.

All five battleships served during World War II, with Prince of Wales and King George V being heavily involved in the pursuit and sinking of the German battleship Bismarck between 24 and 26 May 1941. Prince of Wales was later sunk by a Japanese air attack during her deployment to Singapore off the eastern coast of Malaya along with the battlecruiser HMS Repulse, making her the only ship of the class to be lost in combat. In 1943 Duke of York played a key role in sinking the German battleship Scharnhorst this battle was also the last time that British and German capital ships fought each other during World War II. Howe and Anson had less notable careers as most of their careers were spent in the Arctic Circle providing distant cover for the numerous convoys to and from Russia. The four remaining ships were all deployed to the Pacific but Duke of York and Anson would both arrive to late to take part in hostilities, whilst King George V and Howe provided off-shore bombardment against such targets as the Ryukyu Islands. Following the end of World War II, the ships were slowly phased out of service and by 1957 all of the ships had been sold off for scrap; a process that was completed by 1958.