HMS Valiant, a 27,500-ton Queen Elizabeth class battleship, was built at Glasgow, Scotland. She was completed in February 1916 and served with the Grand Fleet in the North Sea for the remainder of World War I. As one of the important components of British seapower, Valiant was twice modernized during the inter-war period, in 1929-30 and again in 1937-39, greatly enhancing her combat effectiveness. The late '30s reconstruction was particularly comprehensive, giving the ship an up-to-date appearance and greatly improved anti-aircraft defenses.
Valiant's World War II service was far-flung: the Home Fleet in 1940, Mediterranean in 1941-42, Indian Ocean in 1942, Atlantic and Mediterranean in 1943-44 and back to the Indian Ocean in 1944. She took part in operations off Norway in April 1940. While in the Mediterranean in 1941, Valiant participated in the Battle of Cape Matapan in March, was bombed off Crete in May, and received serious damage from a daring Italian underwater commando raid at Alexandria, Egypt, in December. During 1943, she supported the invasions of Sicily in July and Salerno in September, twice bombarding enemy forces ashore during the latter operation. She also escorted the Italian Fleet into Malta after Italy had agreed to Allied terms. In August 1944, the venerable battleship was damaged in a drydock accident at Trincomalee, Ceylon, requiring her to return to England for extensive repairs that lasted into 1946. After final service as a training ship, HMS Valiant was sold for scrapping in March 1948.