A 'Queen Elizabeth'-class battleship firing her forward guns, probably in gunnery practice

This is a study of a 'Queen Elizabeth'-class battleship firing her 'A'- and 'B'-turret main armament in the period 1915-16 and may well be the 'Queen Elizabeth' herself. Only that ship and her sisters 'Barham' and 'Valiant' were completed with the second yard on the foremast and it was removed from all of them in 1916. Though previously titled 'Jutland', that is not a battle scene. The speed of the ship is too slow and her stern turrets are still trained aft, the sea is too calm and the accompanying destroyers too close and not making enough smoke. What it probably shows is gunnery practise within the confines of Scapa Flow.

Object Details

ID: PAE3352
Collection: Fine art
Type: Drawing
Display location: Not on display
Creator: Wyllie, William Lionel
Date made: 1915-16; 1915-1916
Credit: National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London, Caird Collection
Measurements: 253 mm x 380 mm