HMS Vanguard was supposed to be a fifth (technically seventh, but the last two Lions had not been ordered yet) battleship ordered by the Royal Navy to augment the current planned line of KGV and Lion class battleships. Since the first pair of the Lion class would not be ready before 1943, the decision was taken to reuse the turrets left-over from the HMS Courageous and HMS Glorious conversions. The Lion hull was lengthened to accomodate the smaller turrets, that nonetheless took up more space due to there being more of them. As the war progressed it became increasingly apparant that there was less and less need for battleships. With this the Vanguard kept being delayed, due to both being kicked down the road and redesigns that would incorporate war-time lessons, and lessons from the KGV class in general. There would be no more be a requirement to fire over the bow at no elevation, as with the KGV and Lion classes, making the bow wet during rough seas. In addition, the shafts were moved apart due to lessons from the sinking of the Prince of Wales in 41. The Vanguard would become unique among British battleships in that she would have the American Mk.37 FCS directing her 5.25" guns. Finished in 1946, she came way too late to participate in the war, and spent most of her service either as a Royal Yacht, or as a flagship operating with NATO forces. She was laid up in 1955, and scrapped in 1960.
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