H.M.S LION

24″ by 36″ Oil on canvass

H.M.S Lion was the flag ship of the British battlecruiser squadron at the battle of Dogger Bank and the Battle of Jutland. Under the command of Vice Admiral Sir David Beatty the Lion and her 3 sisters were powerful, fast ships, designed to hunt down enemy commerce raiders and cruisers. However, they looked so large and impressive that admirals on both sides could not resist putting them in the battle line where their thin armour was not proof against heavy calibre shellfire. During the Battle of jutland, Britain lost three battlecruisers with a massive loss of life although this had as much to do with the careless handling of ammunition as any design defects in these ships. Lion herself was nearly lost at Jutland when her center line turret was blown up. Inspite of this she successfully led the German battle fleet on to the waiting guns of the British battleships. She was scrapped in 1926.