Scale: 1:48. A contemporary full hull model of the 'Orion'-class Dreadnought battleship HMS 'Conqueror' (1911). Constructed in the builder’s style, the model is decked, fully equipped and rigged. The name ‘Conqueror’ is on the port and starboard stern quarters. Built at Dalmuir by W. Beardmore and Co Ltd, ‘Conqueror’ measured 545 feet in length by 85 feet in the beam.

Along with ‘Orion’, ‘Thunderer’ and ‘Monarch’, it was the first of the Royal Navy’s ‘super-dreadnoughts’. It was armed with ten 13.5-inch guns, sixteen 4-inch guns and three 21-inch torpedo tubes (the stern tube was later removed). The ‘Orion’ class saw a return to the 13.5-inch gun, last mounted in the ‘Royal Sovereign’ class of 1892. This larger calibre provided for more accurate shooting, greater hitting power and significantly reduced the wear and tear on the barrels that had been an unfortunate feature of the 12-inch guns. The ‘Orion’ class also brought a return to the principle that all main armament should be on the ship’s centre line.

‘Conqueror’ was commissioned in November 1912 for service in the 2nd Battle Squadron and in December 1914 was involved in a collision with the battleship ‘Monarch’ (1912), sustaining serious damage to its bows. It took part in the Battle of Jutland, 31 May 1916, under Captain H. H. D. Tothill, but sustained neither damage nor casualties. It was decommissioned along with the rest of the vessels of its class under the terms of the Washington Treaty (1921–22), and sold to Upnor Ship Breaking Co. in December 1922.