H.M.S. Valiant and H.M.S. Malaya were two of the "Queen Elizabeth" class battleships ordered in the 1912 Naval Estimates and laid down the following year. Built in different yards and launched in November 1914 and March 1915 respectively, they were both completed in February 1916 and able to entre service together. Splendidly designed, the "Queen Elizabeth" class brought several innovations with them when they entered the Grand Fleet as they were the first battleships to mount 15-in. guns as well as the first to be able to steam at 24 knots, a considerable improvement upon any of their predecessors. Additionally, they were the first warships of any class to be oil-fired and thus able to benefit from all the advantages that entailed. Displacing 27,500 tons, they were 600 feet in length and their main armament consisted of 8 immensely powerful 15-in. guns.

Both Valiant and Malaya saw extensive service in the two World Wars; each fought ar Jutland in 1916 from which Valiant emerged unscathed whilst Malaya was badly damaged. The Second World War found both battleships heavily engaged, mostly in the Mediterranean, but each survived the conflict only to end her days in the breaker's yard in 1948.