CUS Quebec (BB-1914 (1939-mod))

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This class of four were the CUA Navy's reply to the UK/Commonwealth Super-Dreadnoughts. The CUA ships had 14" guns to the UK 13.5" weapons. But while the CUA Navy leisurely built 4 ships of this class the UK/Commonwealth produced 15 to ensure they were far superior in Dreadnought numbers to the German Navy who built 9 ships of their equivalents during the same period. Added to those ships of the UK and Germany were the 4 UK battlecruisers and 2 German battlecruisers of the same period.

These were the first of the 6" battleships where the secondary armament was finally increased to 6" guns to cope with the ever increasing size of the torpedoboat destroyers that were not as easily stopped by the prior 3" and 4" weapons. The Quebecs still carried a set of 3" guns but these were fitted from 1916 onwards and were the first AA weapons fitted to the ships. The boiler rooms fitted between B to Q turret had their exhaust gasses trunked to one funnel while the engine room was fitted between the Q and X turret.

At age 25 the four ships futures were under discussion. War with Japan had been 'wargamed' many times and the one thing that the CUA Navy required its older battleships for was as fire support units. The British had a few dedicated 'monitor' type vessels which as a type were too slow for what the CUA Navy required. So the older battleships survived and were updated to fulfill this role. New bridge superstructures. fire control, dual purpose secondary armament, deck armour and refurbished propulsion system gave the ships a whole new look. Unlike the British conversion these ships retained their Q turrets.

Early shot of Quebec before fitting of aft tripod and single 3"the single 6" are visible aft of B 14" turret.

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