Costs of warships 1900–18

Exchange rates in 1914

Australian pound $4.85

Austro-Hungarian krone ("crown") $0.197

Belgian franc $0.193

British pound $4.85

Bulgarian lev ("lion") $0.193

Canadian dollar $1.00

Chinese yuan $1.00

Cuban peso $1.00

Danish krone ("crown") $0.268

Dutch gulden $0.40

Egyptian Lira $5.054

Finnish markka (Russian) $0.193

French Franc $0.192 (1914)

German mark $0.236

Greek Drachma $0.192 (1914).

Indian rupee (British) $0.444

Italian lira $0.193

Japanese yen (silver) $1.00, (gold) $0.50

Mexican peso (silver) $1.00

Montenegrin perper $0.193

Norwegian krone ("crown") $0.268

Peruvian sol (silver) $1.00

Romanian leu $0.193

Russian ruble $0.507

Serbian dinar $0.193

Spanish peseta $0.193

Swedish krona ("crown") $0.268

Swiss franc $0.193

Austria-Hungary

Pre-dreadnoughts

SMS Erzherzog Karl £912,500

Armoured Cruisers

SMS Kaiser Karl VI £429,000

SMS Sankt Georg £581,585

Light Cruisers

SMS Zenta £143,780

France

Pre-dreadnoughts

Bouvet (1893) £1,100,770

Brennus (1891) £991,767

Carnot (1894) £1,070,088

Charlemagne (1895) £1,096,432

Charles Martel (1893) £1,092,830

Condorcet (1909) £2,165,200

Danton (1909) £2,068,000

Démocratie (1904) £1,173,180

Diderot (1909) £2,167,000

Gaulois £1,093,925

Henri IV £801,248

Jauréguiberry £1,069,536

Justice £1,670,385

Masséna £1,100,400

Mirabeau (1909) £2,032,000

Patrie £1,674,870

République £1,523,136

Saint Louis £1,080,997

Suffren £1,195,564

Vergniaud (1910) £2,165,200

Vérité £1,661,409

Voltaire £2,169,200

Dreadnoughts

Bretagne £2,580,430

Courbet £2,508,388

Flandre £2,589,439

France £2,603,920

Gascogne £2,589,439

Jean Bart (1911) £2,528,888

Languedoc (1914) £2,642,439

Lorraine £2,642,439

Normandie (1914) £2,612,139

Paris £2,603,920

Provence £2,600,195

Armoured Cruisers

Amiral Aube £973,410

Bruix £409,622

Amiral Charner £353,200

Condé £863,799

Desaix (1901) £762,759

Dupetit-Thouars (1901) £831,839

Dupleix £652,354

Edgar Quinet (1907) £1,307,536

Ernest Renan £1,410,000

Gloire (1900) £883,269

Gueydon £817,994

Jeanne d'Arc (1899) £875,847

Jules Ferry £1,169,940

Jules Michelet £1,204,107

Kléber £770,320

Léon Gambetta £1,169,640

Marseillaise (1900) £881,270

Montcalm £902,809

Victor Hugo £1,229,932

Waldeck-Rousseau (1908) £1,301,380

Cruisers

Châteaurenault (1898) £606,656

D'Entrecasteaux (1896) £667,740

Guichen (1897) £611,945

Jurien de la Gravière (1899) £475,979

Light Cruisers

Cassard (1896) £318,712

Descartes (1894) £334,725

Destrées £208,200

Du Chayla (1895) £315,835

Friant (1893) £308,750

Lavoisier £202,024

Germany

Pre-Dreadnoughts

SMS Brandenburg 15,832,000 Marks

SMS Wörth 16,054,000 Marks

SMS Kaiser Friedrich III 21,472,000 Marks

SMS Kaiser Wilhelm II 20,387,000 Marks

SMS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse 20,254,000 Marks

SMS Kaiser Karl der Grosse 20,385,000 Marks

SMS Kaiser Barbarossa 20,301,000 Marks

SMS Wittelsbach 22,740,000 Marks

SMS Wettin 22,597,000 Marks

SMS Zähringen 22,275,000 Marks

SMS Schwaben 21,678,000 Marks

SMS Mecklenburg 22,329,000 Marks

SMS Braunschweig 23,893,000 Marks

SMS Elsass 23,983,000 Marks

SMS Hessen 23,867,000 Marks

SMS Preussen 23,990,000 Marks

SMS Lothringen 23,801,000 Marks

SMS Deutschland 24,481,000 Marks

SMS Pommern 24,624,000 Marks

SMS Hannover 24,253,000 Marks

SMS Schlesien 24,920,000 Marks

SMS Schleswig-Holstein 24,972,000 Marks

Dreadnoughts

SMS Nassau 37,399,000 Marks

SMS Posen 36,920,000 Marks

SMS Rheinland 36,916,000 Marks

SMS Westfalen 37,615,000 Marks

SMS Helgoland 46,196,000 Marks

SMS Ostfriesland 43,579,000 Marks

SMS Thüringen 46,314,000 Marks

SMS Oldenburg 45,801,000 Marks

SMS Kaiser 44,997,000 Marks

SMS Friedrich der Grosse 45,802,000 Marks

SMS Kaiserin 45,173,000 Marks

SMS König Albert 45,761,000 Marks

SMS Prinzregent Luitpold 46,374,000 Marks

SMS König, SMS Grosser Kurfürst, SMS Markgraf, SMS Kronprinz approx. 45,000,000 Marks average

SMS Bayern, SMS Baden approx. 50,000,000 Marks average

Battlecruisers

SMS Von der Tann 36,523,000 Marks

SMS Moltke 42,603,000 Marks

SMS Goeben 41,564,000 Marks

SMS Seydlitz 44,685,000 Marks

SMS Derfflinger 56,000,000 Marks

SMS Lützow 58,000,000 Marks

SMS Hindenburg 59,000,000 Marks

Armoured Cruisers

SMS Kaiserin Augusta 8,697,000 Marks

SMS Victoria Louise 10,714,000 Marks

SMS Hertha 9,932,000 Marks

SMS Freya 11,094,000 Marks

SMS Vineta (1897) 10,714,000 Marks

SMS Hansa (1898) 10,270,000 Marks

SMS Fürst Bismarck (1897) 18,945,000 Marks

SMS Prinz Heinrich 16,588,000 Marks

SMS Prinz Adalbert (1901) 16,371,000 Marks

SMS Friedrich Carl 15,665,000 Marks

SMS Roon 15,345,000 Marks

SMS Yorck 16,241,000 Marks

SMS Scharnhorst 20,319,000 Marks

SMS Gneisenau 19,243,000 Marks

SMS Blücher 28,532,000 Marks

Light Cruisers

SMS Gazelle (1900) 4,611,000 Marks

SMS Niobe 4,534,000 Marks

SMS Nymphe 4,647,000 Marks

SMS Thetis 4,487,000 Marks

SMS Ariadne 4,779,000 Marks

SMS Amazone (1900) 4,858,000 Marks

SMS Medusa 4,739,000 Marks

SMS Frauenlob 4,596,000 Marks

SMS Arcona 4,493,000 Marks

SMS Undine 4,653,000 Marks

SMS Bremen 4,746,000 Marks

SMS Hamburg 4,706,000 Marks

SMS Berlin 4,545,000 Marks

SMS Lübeck 5,436,000 Marks

SMS München 5,054,000 Marks

SMS Leipzig 5,043,000 Marks

SMS Danzig 4,828,000 Marks

SMS Königsberg 5,407,000 Marks

SMS Nürnberg 5,560,000 Marks

SMS Stuttgart 5,488,000 Marks

SMS Stettin 6,398,000 Marks

SMS Dresden 7,460,000 Marks

SMS Emden 5,960,000 Marks

SMS Kolberg 8,118,000 Marks

SMS Mainz 8,777,000 Marks

SMS Cöln 8,356,000 Marks

SMS Augsburg 7,593,000 Marks

SMS Magdeburg 8,058,000 Marks

SMS Breslau 7,961,000 Marks

SMS Strassburg 7,302,000 Marks

SMS Stralsund 7,741,000 Marks

SMS Karlsruhe 8,126,000 Marks

SMS Rostock 8,124,000 Marks

SMS Graudenz 8,800,000 Marks

SMS Regensburg 8,800,000 Marks

Great Britain

Pre-Dreadnoughts

HMS Royal Sovereign (1891) £913,986

HMS Ramillies (1892) £980,895

HMS Royal Oak (1892) £977,996

HMS Repulse (1892) £915,302

HMS Revenge (1892) (renamed HMS Redoubtable) £954,825

HMS Resolution (1892) £953,817

HMS Empress of India (1891) £912,162

HMS Majestic (1895) £986,482

HMS Caesar (1896) £936,864

HMS Illustrious (1896) £952,195

HMS Jupiter (1895) £967,651

HMS Magnificent (1894) £979,889

HMS Mars (1896) £964,352

HMS Prince George (1895) £965,604

HMS Victorious (1895) £955,312

HMS Canopus (1897) £921,316

HMS Albion (1898) £913,545

HMS Glory (1899) £895,814

HMS Goliath (1898) £920,806

HMS Ocean (1898) £938,578

HMS Vengeance (1899) £891,417

HMS Formidable (1898) £1,097,245

HMS Irresistible (1898) £1,122,636

HMS Implacable (1899) £1,063,616

HMS Bulwark (1899) £1,056,816

HMS London (1899) £1,103,453

HMS Venerable (1899) £1,159,853

HMS Duncan (1901) £1,088,897

HMS Albemarle (1901) £1,078,395

HMS Cornwallis (1901) £1,098,159

HMS Exmouth (1901) £1,098,159

HMS Russell (1901) £1,104,051

HMS Queen (1902) £1,146,669

HMS Prince of Wales (1902) £1,185,744

HMS King Edward VII £1,472,075

HMS Africa (1905) £1,420,040

HMS Britannia (1904) £1,408,053

HMS Commonwealth (1903) £1,471,527

HMS Dominion (1903) £1,453,718

HMS Hibernia (1905) £1,438,690

HMS Hindustan (1903) £1,450,652

HMS New Zealand £1,424,643 (renamed HMS Zealandia 1 December 1911)

HMS Swiftsure (1903) £957,520, purchased from Chile (amount not certain)

HMS Triumph £956,596, purchased from Chile (amount not certain)

HMS Lord Nelson £1,651,339

HMS Agamemnon £1,652,347

Dreadnoughts

HMS Dreadnought (1906) £1,785,683

HMS Bellerophon (1907) £1,763,491

HMS Superb (1907) £1,744,287

HMS Temeraire (1907) £1,641,114

HMS St. Vincent (1908) £1,721,970

HMS Collingwood (1908) £1,680,888

HMS Vanguard (1909) £1,606,030

HMS Neptune (1909) £1,668,916

HMS Colossus (1910) £1,672,103

HMS Hercules (1910) £1,661,240

HMS Orion (1910) £1,855,917

HMS Conqueror (1911) £1,891,164

HMS Monarch (1911) £1,888,736

HMS Thunderer (1911) £1,892,823

HMS King George V (1911) £1,961,096

HMS Centurion (1911) £1,950,671

HMS Audacious (1912) £1,918,813

HMS Ajax (1912) £1,889,387

HMS Iron Duke (1912) £1,945,824

HMS Marlborough (1912) £2,043,437

HMS Erin (1913) £2,500,000

HMS Agincourt £2,900,000

HMS Queen Elizabeth - Portsmouth Dockyard - £3,014,103

HMS Malaya (1915) £2,945,709

HMS Valiant £2,537,037

HMS Warspite £2,524,148

HMS Barham £2,470,113

HMS Canada £2,500,000

HMS Royal Sovereign (1915) £2,570,504

HMS Revenge (1915) £2,406,368

HMS Resolution (1915) £2,449,680

HMS Royal Oak £2,468,269

HMS Ramillies (1917) £3,295,810

Battlecruisers

HMS Invincible (1907) £1,767,515

HMS Inflexible (1907) £1,720,739

HMS Indomitable (1907) £1,752,337

HMS Indefatigable (1909) £1,520,591

HMS New Zealand (1911) £1,783,190

HMAS Australia (1911) (Royal Australian Navy) £1,783,190

HMS Lion (1910) £2,083,999

HMS Princess Royal (1911) £2,076,222

HMS Queen Mary (1912) £2,078,491

HMS Tiger (1913) £2,100,000

HMS Renown (1916) £3,117,204

HMS Repulse (1916) £2,829,087

Armoured cruisers

HMS Diadem, HMS Amphitrite, HMS Andromeda, HMS Argonaut, HMS Ariadne, HMS Europa, HMS Niobe, HMS Spartiate (1896-1898), approx. £600.000 average

HMS Cressy, HMS Aboukir, HMS Bacchante, HMS Hogue, HMS Sutlej, HMS Euryalus (1899-1901), approx. £800,000 average

HMS Drake (1901) £1,002,977

HMS Good Hope (1901) £990,759

HMS King Alfred (1901) £978,125

HMS Leviathan (1901) £1,012,959

HMS Monmouth, HMS Bedford, HMS Donegal, HMS Berwick, HMS Kent, HMS Cumberland, HMS Cornwall (1902), HMS Essex (1901), HMS Suffolk (1903), HMS Lancaster (1902) (1901-1903), approx. £775,000 average

HMS Devonshire, HMS Antrim, HMS Argyll, HMS Carnarvon, HMS Hampshire, HMS Roxburgh (1903-1904), approx. £850,000 average

HMS Duke of Edinburgh, HMS Black Prince (1904), approx. £1,150,000 average

HMS Warrior, HMS Cochrane, HMS Natal, HMS Achilles (1905), approx. £1,180,000 average

HMS Minotaur (1906) £1,410,356

HMS Defence (1907) £1,362,970

HMS Shannon (1906) £1,415,535

Light Cruisers

HMS Courageous (1916) £2,038,225

HMS Edgar (1890) £410,980

HMS Hawke (1891) £400,702

HMS Endymion (1891) £375,250

HMS Royal Arthur (1891) £412,033

HMS Gibraltar (1892) £373,236

HMS Grafton (1892) £372,890

HMS St George (1892) £388,755

HMS Theseus (1892) £370,359

HMS Crescent (1892) £392,453

HMS Apollo, HMS Aeolus, HMS Andromache, HMS Brilliant, HMS Indefatigable, HMS Intrepid, HMS Iphigenia, HMS Latona, HMS Melampus, HMS Naiad, HMS Pique, HMS Rainbow, HMS Retribution, HMS Sappho, HMS Scylla, HMS Sirius, HMS Spartan, HMS Sybille, HMS Terpsichore, HMS Thetis, HMS Tribune (1890-1892) - approx. £200,000 average

HMS Highflyer, HMS Hermes, HMS Hyacinth (1898) - approx. £300,000 average

HMS Pelorus, HMS Pandora, HMS Pegasus, HMS Perseus, HMS Pactolus, HMS Pioneer, HMS Pomone, HMS Prometheus, HMS Proserpine, HMS Psyche, HMS Pyramus (1896-1900) = approx. £150,000 average

HMS Topaze, HMS Amethyst, HMS Diamond, HMS Sapphire (1903-1904) - approx. £240,000 average

HMS Sentinel, HMS Skirmisher - approx. £282,000 average

HMS Forward, HMS Foresight (1904) - approx. £289,000 average

HMS Pathfinder, HMS Patrol Laid down 1904 - approx. £279,000 average

HMS Adventure, HMS Attentive (1904) - approx. £275,000 average

HMS Boadicea, HMS Bellona (1908-1909) - approx. £330,000 average

HMS Weymouth, HMS Dartmouth, HMS Falmouth, HMS Yarmouth (1911) (1910-1911) £396,363 average

HMS Chatham, HMS Dublin, HMS Southampton, HMAS Sydney (RAN), HMAS Melbourne (RAN), HMAS Brisbane (RAN) - £334,053 average

HMS Arethusa, HMS Aurora, HMS Galatea, HMS Inconstant, HMS Penelope, HMS Phaeton, HMS Royalist, HMS Undaunted - approx. £285,000 average

Monitors

HMS Humber, HMS Mersey, HMS Severn £155,000 each. Bought from Brazil.

HMS Gorgon, HMS Glatton £370,000 each. From Norway.

HMS Marshal Soult, HMS Marshal Ney £270,000 each

HMS Erebus £380,000 + used weaponry. Would have cost about £540,000 with new weaponry.

HMS General Wolfe and other 12 inch monitors approx. £260,000 (before conversions with larger guns).

Destroyers

HMS Acheron £88,000

HMS Beagle £106,000

HMS Defender £83,000

HMS Acorn £94,000

HMS Acasta - £100,000

HMS Laforey - £98,000

M-class destroyers - £100,000

Admiralty M class with higher speeds cost £110,000, but the 'Specials' were faster and cost £127,000 each

V and W-class destroyers - £200,000

Minesweepers

Flower-class sloops £60,000

Submarines

D-class submarines £89,000

Greece

Pre-Dreadnoughts

Lemnos (ex-USS Idaho (BB-24)) and Kilkis (ex-USS Mississippi (BB-23)) $6,267,638 each

Armoured Cruisers

Georgios Averof 24 million drachmas

Destroyers

Aetos, Ierax, Panthir, Leon, £148,000 each (bought from the Liverpool Dockyards "Camell Laird").

Italy

Pre-dreadnoughts

Napoli and Regina Elena £1,120,000

Re Umberto £1,058,500

Roma £1,120,000

Sardegna £1,057,440

Sicilia £1,050,000

Vittorio Emanuele £1,120,000

Armoured Cruisers

Amalfi £880,000

Marco Polo £344,400

Protected cruisers

Calabria £183,120

Elba £200,000

Etruria £183,120

Liguria £183,120

Puglia £200,000

Torpedo cruisers

Aretusa, Iride, Minerva £72,920 each

Gunboats

Governolo £58,440

Japan

Pre-dreadnoughts

Tango (ex-Poltava) £1,098,000

Battlecruisers

Kongō £2,500,000

Coast Defence

Minoshima £410,000

Armoured Cruisers

Kasuga, Nisshin £760,000

Light cruisers

Akashi £327,000

Chitose, Kasagi £205,200

Suma £237,000

Netherlands

Coast Defence

HNLMS De Ruyter (1901), HNLMS Hertog Hendrik (1901), HNLMS Jacob van Heemskerck (1906), HNLMS Koningin Regentes (1900), HNLMS Maarten Harpertszoon Tromp (1904) £347,500 each

Cruisers

HNLMS Friesland (1896), HNLMS Holland (1896), HNLMS Zeeland (1897) £285,700

Norway

Coast Defence

HNoMS Eidsvold (1899), HNoMS Norge (1899) £350,000 each

HNoMS Harald Haarfagre (1897), HNoMS Tordenskjold (1897) £300,000 each

Portugal

Coast Defence

Vasco da Gama (1876) £132,000

Russia

Dreadnoughts

Gangut, Petropavlovsk, Poltava, Sevastopol (1911) approx. 29 million rubles each (extremely expensive due to design faults and state bureaucracy)

Pre-dreadnoughts

Andrei Pervozvanny, Imperator Pavel I (Respublika) £1,170,000 each

Sinop £900,000

Petropavlovsk (1894) 9,225,309 rubles (Brassey says £1,098,000)

Poltava (1894), Sevastopol (1894-1895) £1,098,000 each

Peresvet 10.54 mil. Rub.

Oslyabya 11.34 mil. Rub.

Pobeda 10.05 mil. Rub.

Ekaterina II (1886) £900,000

Georgii Pobedonosets (1892) £431,000

Navarin (1891) £772,995

Imperator Nikolai I (1916) £453,000

Sissoi Veliky £796,333

Coast Defence

Admiral Ushakov, Admiral Seniavin £410,000 each

Cruisers

Zhemchug 3,549,848 rubles (sister Izumrud was of comparable cost, both nearly twice as expensive as near-sister Novik, built in Germany)

Admiral Nakhimov £572,000

Pamiat Azova £350,000

Admiral Kornilov £296,000

Gunboats

Kazarskii £32,500

Abrek £53,600

Griden £66,600

Posadnik, Voyevoda £111,000

Spain

Dreadnoughts

España-class battleships, approx. £1,600,000 each

Armoured Cruisers

Cataluna, Princesa de Asturias £600,000 each

Emperador Carlos V £734,000

Sweden

Armoured Cruisers

HSwMS Fylgia £385,700

HSwMS Sverige £666,000

Ottoman Empire

Pre-dreadnoughts

Barbaros Hayreddin (ex-German SMS Kurfürst Friedrich Wilhelm), Turgut Reis (ex-German SMS Weissenburg) £450,000 each