Lion-class battleship

Right elevation and plan of the 1938 version of the Lion design
Class overview
Name	Lion-class battleship
Operators	Royal Navy
Preceded by	King George V class
Succeeded by	HMS Vanguard
Planned	6
Completed	0
Cancelled	6
General characteristics (1938 design)
Type	Fast battleship
Displacement	40,550 long tons (41,200 t) (standard) 46,400 long tons (47,100 t) (deep load)
Length	780 ft (237.7 m) (waterline) 785 ft (239.3 m) (o/a)
Beam	105 ft (32 m)
Draught	33 ft 6 in (10.2 m) (deep load)
Installed power	8 × Admiralty 3-drum boilers 130,000 shp (97,000 kW)
Propulsion	4 shafts; 4 × steam turbine sets
Speed	30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph)
Range	14,000 nmi (26,000 km; 16,000 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement	1,680
Armament	3 × triple 16 in (406 mm) guns 8 × twin 5.25 in (133 mm) DP guns 6 × octuple 2-pdr (40 mm) AA guns
Armour	Belt: 6–14.7 in (152–373 mm) Deck: 2.5–6 in (64–152 mm) Barbettes: 12–15 in (305–381 mm) Gun turrets: 7–15 in (178–381 mm) Conning tower: 3–4.5 in (76–114 mm) Bulkheads: 4–12 in (102–305 mm)
General characteristics (1942 design)
Displacement	42,550 long tons (43,230 t) (standard) 48,890 long tons (49,670 t) (deep load)
Length	780 ft (237.7 m) (waterline) 793 ft (241.7 m) (o/a)
Beam	108 ft (32.9 m)
Draught	34 ft 3 in (10.4 m) (deep load)
Installed power	130,000 shp (97,000 kW) 8 × Admiralty 3-drum boilers
Propulsion	4 shafts; 4 × steam turbine sets
Speed	28.25 knots (52.32 km/h; 32.51 mph)
Range	16,500 nmi (30,600 km; 19,000 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement	1,750
Armament	3 × triple 16 in guns 8 × twin 5.25 in DP guns 9 × octuple, 1 × quadruple 2-pdr AA guns
Armour	Belt: 6–14.7 in (152–373 mm) Deck: 2.5–6 in (64–152 mm) Barbettes: 12–15 in (305–381 mm) Gun turrets: 7–15 in (178–381 mm) Conning tower: 3–4.5 in (76–114 mm) Bulkheads: 4–12 in (102–305 mm)

The Lion class was a class of six fast battleships designed for the Royal Navy (RN) in the late 1930s. They were a larger, improved version of the preceding King George V class, with 16-inch (406 mm) guns. Only two ships were laid down before the Second World War began in September 1939 and a third was ordered during the war, but their construction was suspended shortly afterwards. The design was modified in light of war experience in 1942, but the two ships already begun were scrapped later in the year.

None of the other ships planned were laid down, although there was a proposal in 1941 to modify one of the suspended ships into a hybrid battleship-aircraft carrier with two 16-inch gun turrets and a flight deck. Preliminary work for a new design began in 1944 and continued for the next year or so until the RN realised that they were unaffordable in the post-war financial environment.