On 30 May 1944 was the HMS Royal Sovereign handed over to the Soviet Navy where she was renamed Archangelsk and given back 9 February 1949.
The Royal Sovereign was part of a class named after her with as sister ships the Ramillies, Resolution, Revenge, Royal Oak, Renown, Repulse and Resistance (never built. The Renown and Repulse were redesigned as battlecruisers. This class was designed by Sir Eustace Tennyson d'Eyncourt. She was laid down at the Portsmouth Dockyard 15 January 1914, launched 29 April 1915, commissioned in May 1916, sold 5 April 1949 and broken up at Inverkeithing.
With a standard displacement of 28,000 tons were her dimensions 624'3" (over all) x 88'6" x 28'6". The four Parsons turbines joined by 18 Babcock boilers supplied 40,000 hp allowing a maximum speed of 21 knots, The bunker oil capacity was 3,400 tons. The crew numbered 997 men while in British service. The armament consisted of 4x2-15" guns, 14x6" guns, 2x3" anti aircraft guns, 4x3pdr saluting guns and finally 4x21" submerged torpedo tubes. The armour consisted of a 6-13" belt, 4-10"bulkheads, 4-10" barbettes, 13"on the fore side of the turrets, the conning tower had a protection of 11" and the deck 1-3".
