The H.M.S. Lion was a battlecruiser, one of the ‘Splendid Cats’ line. There had been other ships named Lion but the one we’re concerned with here was Vice Admiral Beatty’s flagship during two important naval battles of World War 1. Those battles, Dogger Bank and Jutland, are described in Frank Read’s diary, transcribed on this site with daily accounts of life aboard the Lion.

Started or ‘laid down’ on November 29th, 1909, the Lion was launched on August 6th, 1910 and commissioned on the 4th of June, 1912. Sadly, she was decommissioned on the 30th of May, 1922 then sold for scrap in January 1924.

Here are some photos taken from Wikipedia.org. The complete article is here: H.M.S. Lion (1910)

The Lion under way.

Here is some of the damage inflicted during the Battle of Jutland:

From Wikipedia: “‘Q’ turret showing the armour blown off by the ammunition fire.”

Another shot of the Lion “hit by shellfire during the Battle of Jutland”:

From the Wikipedia: “Lion hit by shellfire during the Battle of Jutland.”

From Wikipedia: “Left elevation and deck plan from the 1918 Jane’s Fighting Ships; the dark areas show the location of her armour.”