Complex sentence: The class was originally to have consisted of eight ships, laid down in 1943, but by the end of the Second World War only "Minotaur", "Swiftsure", and "Superb" were complete, whilst the others were laid up.
Split into simpler sentences: The class was originally to have consisted of eight ships, laid down in 1943. The end of the Second World War meant that only "Minotaur", "Swiftsure", and "Superb" were completed, whilst the others were laid up.