Question: How much does it cost to make a battlecruiser?

Costs of warships 1900–1918




This list reflects the results of the first organised effort to determine the costs of warships of all nations[1] involved in World War I.
Exchange rates in 1914
Australian pound $4.85
Austro-Hungarian krone ("crown") $0.197[2]
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
Nations
Austria-Hungary
Pre-dreadnoughts
SMS<i>Erzherzog Karl £912,500
Armoured Cruisers
SMS<i>Kaiser Karl VI £429,000
SMS<i>Sankt Georg £581,585
Light Cruisers
SMS<i>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<i>Brandenburg 15,832,000 Marks
SMS<i>Wörth 16,054,000 Marks
SMS<i>Kaiser Friedrich III 21,472,000 Marks
SMS<i>Kaiser Wilhelm II 20,387,000 Marks
SMS<i>Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse 20,254,000 Marks
SMS<i>Kaiser Karl der Grosse 20,385,000 Marks
SMS<i>Kaiser Barbarossa 20,301,000 Marks
SMS<i>Wittelsbach 22,740,000 Marks
SMS<i>Wettin 22,597,000 Marks
SMS<i>Zähringen 22,275,000 Marks
SMS<i>Schwaben 21,678,000 Marks
SMS<i>Mecklenburg 22,329,000 Marks
SMS<i>Braunschweig 23,893,000 Marks
SMS<i>Elsass 23,983,000 Marks
SMS<i>Hessen 23,867,000 Marks
SMS<i>Preussen 23,990,000 Marks
SMS<i>Lothringen 23,801,000 Marks
SMS<i>Deutschland 24,481,000 Marks
SMS<i>Pommern 24,624,000 Marks
SMS<i>Hannover 24,253,000 Marks
SMS<i>Schlesien 24,920,000 Marks
SMS<i>Schleswig-Holstein 24,972,000 Marks
Dreadnoughts
SMS<i>Nassau 37,399,000 Marks
SMS<i>Posen 36,920,000 Marks
SMS<i>Rheinland 36,916,000 Marks
SMS<i>Westfalen 37,615,000 Marks
SMS<i>Helgoland 46,196,000 Marks
SMS<i>Ostfriesland 43,579,000 Marks
SMS<i>Thüringen 46,314,000 Marks
SMS<i>Oldenburg 45,801,000 Marks
SMS<i>Kaiser 44,997,000 Marks
SMS<i>Friedrich der Grosse 45,802,000 Marks
SMS<i>Kaiserin 45,173,000 Marks
SMS<i>König Albert 45,761,000 Marks
SMS<i>Prinzregent Luitpold 46,374,000 Marks
SMS<i>König, SMS<i>Grosser Kurfürst, SMS<i>Markgraf, SMS<i>Kronprinz approx. 45,000,000 Marks average
SMS<i>Bayern, SMS<i>Baden approx. 50,000,000 Marks average
Battlecruisers
SMS<i>Von der Tann 36,523,000 Marks
SMS<i>Moltke 42,603,000 Marks
SMS<i>Goeben 41,564,000 Marks
SMS<i>Seydlitz 44,685,000 Marks
SMS<i>Derfflinger 56,000,000 Marks
SMS<i>Lützow 58,000,000 Marks
SMS<i>Hindenburg 59,000,000 Marks
Armoured Cruisers
SMS<i>Kaiserin Augusta 8,697,000 Marks
SMS<i>Victoria Louise 10,714,000 Marks
SMS<i>Hertha 9,932,000 Marks
SMS<i>Freya 11,094,000 Marks
SMS<i>Vineta(1897) 10,714,000 Marks
SMS<i>Hansa(1898) 10,270,000 Marks
SMS<i>Fürst Bismarck(1897) 18,945,000 Marks
SMS<i>Prinz Heinrich 16,588,000 Marks
SMS<i>Prinz Adalbert(1901) 16,371,000 Marks
SMS<i>Friedrich Carl 15,665,000 Marks
SMS<i>Roon 15,345,000 Marks
SMS<i>Yorck 16,241,000 Marks
SMS<i>Scharnhorst 20,319,000 Marks
SMS<i>Gneisenau 19,243,000 Marks
SMS<i>Blücher 28,532,000 Marks
Light Cruisers
SMS<i>Gazelle (1900) 4,611,000 Marks
SMS<i>Niobe 4,534,000 Marks
SMS<i>Nymphe 4,647,000 Marks
SMS<i>Thetis 4,487,000 Marks
SMS<i>Ariadne 4,779,000 Marks
SMS<i>Amazone (1900) 4,858,000 Marks
SMS<i>Medusa 4,739,000 Marks
SMS<i>Frauenlob 4,596,000 Marks
SMS<i>Arcona 4,493,000 Marks
SMS<i>Undine 4,653,000 Marks
SMS<i>Bremen 4,746,000 Marks
SMS<i>Hamburg 4,706,000 Marks
SMS<i>Berlin 4,545,000 Marks
SMS<i>Lübeck 5,436,000 Marks
SMS<i>München 5,054,000 Marks
SMS<i>Leipzig 5,043,000 Marks
SMS<i>Danzig 4,828,000 Marks
SMS<i>Königsberg 5,407,000 Marks
SMS<i>Nürnberg 5,560,000 Marks
SMS<i>Stuttgart 5,488,000 Marks
SMS<i>Stettin 6,398,000 Marks
SMS<i>Dresden 7,460,000 Marks
SMS<i>Emden 5,960,000 Marks
SMS<i>Kolberg 8,118,000 Marks
SMS<i>Mainz 8,777,000 Marks
SMS<i>Cöln 8,356,000 Marks
SMS<i>Augsburg 7,593,000 Marks
SMS<i>Magdeburg 8,058,000 Marks
SMS<i>Breslau 7,961,000 Marks
SMS<i>Strassburg 7,302,000 Marks
SMS<i>Stralsund 7,741,000 Marks
SMS<i>Karlsruhe 8,126,000 Marks
SMS<i>Rostock 8,124,000 Marks
SMS<i>Graudenz 8,800,000 Marks
SMS<i>Regensburg 8,800,000 Marks
Great Britain
Pre-Dreadnoughts
HMS<i>Royal Sovereign(1891) £913,986
HMS<i>Ramillies(1892) £980,895
HMS<i>Royal Oak(1892) £977,996
HMS<i>Repulse(1892) £915,302
HMS<i>Revenge(1892) (renamed HMS<i>Redoubtable) £954,825
HMS<i>Resolution(1892) £953,817
HMS<i>Empress of India(1891) £912,162
HMS<i>Majestic(1895) £986,482
HMS<i>Caesar(1896) £936,864
HMS<i>Illustrious(1896) £952,195
HMS<i>Jupiter(1895) £967,651
HMS<i>Magnificent(1894) £979,889
HMS<i>Mars(1896) £964,352
HMS<i>Prince George(1895) £965,604
HMS<i>Victorious(1895) £955,312
HMS<i>Canopus(1897) £921,316
HMS<i>Albion(1898) £913,545
HMS<i>Glory(1899) £895,814
HMS<i>Goliath(1898) £920,806
HMS<i>Ocean(1898) £938,578
HMS<i>Vengeance(1899) £891,417
HMS<i>Formidable(1898) £1,097,245
HMS<i>Irresistible(1898) £1,122,636
HMS<i>Implacable(1899) £1,063,616
HMS<i>Bulwark(1899) £1,056,816
HMS<i>London(1899) £1,103,453
HMS<i>Venerable(1899) £1,159,853
HMS<i>Duncan(1901) £1,088,897
HMS<i>Albemarle(1901) £1,078,395
HMS<i>Cornwallis(1901) £1,098,159
HMS<i>Exmouth(1901) £1,098,159
HMS<i>Russell(1901) £1,104,051
HMS<i>Queen(1902) £1,146,669
HMS<i>Prince of Wales(1902) £1,185,744
HMS<i>King Edward VII £1,472,075
HMS<i>Africa(1905) £1,420,040
HMS<i>Britannia(1904) £1,408,053
HMS<i>Commonwealth(1903) £1,471,527
HMS<i>Dominion(1903) £1,453,718
HMS<i>Hibernia(1905) £1,438,690
HMS<i>Hindustan(1903) £1,450,652
HMS<i>New Zealand £1,424,643 (renamed HMS<i>Zealandia 1 December 1911)
HMS<i>Swiftsure(1903) £957,520, purchased from Chile (amount not certain)
HMS<i>Triumph £956,596, purchased from Chile (amount not certain)
HMS<i>Lord Nelson £1,651,339
HMS<i>Agamemnon £1,652,347
Dreadnoughts
HMS<i>Dreadnought(1906) £1,785,683
HMS<i>Bellerophon(1907) £1,763,491
HMS<i>Superb(1907) £1,744,287
HMS<i>Temeraire(1907) £1,641,114
HMS<i>St. Vincent(1908) £1,721,970
HMS<i>Collingwood(1908) £1,680,888
HMS<i>Vanguard(1909) £1,606,030
HMS<i>Neptune(1909) £1,668,916
HMS<i>Colossus(1910) £1,672,103
HMS<i>Hercules(1910) £1,661,240
HMS<i>Orion(1910) £1,855,917
HMS<i>Conqueror(1911) £1,891,164
HMS<i>Monarch(1911) £1,888,736
HMS<i>Thunderer(1911) £1,892,823
HMS<i>King George V(1911) £1,961,096
HMS<i>Centurion(1911) £1,950,671
HMS<i>Audacious(1912) £1,918,813
HMS<i>Ajax(1912) £1,889,387
HMS<i>Iron Duke(1912) £1,945,824
HMS<i>Marlborough(1912) £2,043,437
HMS<i>Erin (1913) £2,500,000
HMS<i>Agincourt £2,900,000
HMS<i>Queen Elizabeth - Portsmouth Dockyard - £3,014,103
HMS<i>Malaya (1915) £2,945,709
HMS<i>Valiant £2,537,037
HMS<i>Warspite £2,524,148
HMS<i>Barham £2,470,113
HMS<i>Canada £2,500,000
HMS<i>Royal Sovereign (1915) £2,570,504
HMS<i>Revenge (1915) £2,406,368
HMS<i>Resolution (1915) £2,449,680
HMS<i>Royal Oak £2,468,269
HMS<i>Ramillies (1917) £3,295,810
Battlecruisers
HMS<i>Invincible(1907) £1,767,515
HMS<i>Inflexible(1907) £1,720,739
HMS<i>Indomitable(1907) £1,752,337
HMS<i>Indefatigable(1909) £1,520,591
HMS<i>New Zealand(1911) £1,783,190
HMAS<i>Australia(1911) (Royal Australian Navy) £1,783,190
HMS<i>Lion(1910) £2,083,999
HMS<i>Princess Royal(1911) £2,076,222
HMS<i>Queen Mary (1912) £2,078,491
HMS<i>Tiger(1913) £2,100,000
HMS<i>Renown(1916) £3,117,204
HMS<i>Repulse(1916) £2,829,087
Armoured cruisers
HMS<i>Diadem, HMS<i>Amphitrite, HMS<i>Andromeda, HMS<i>Argonaut, HMS<i>Ariadne, HMS<i>Europa, HMS<i>Niobe, HMS<i>Spartiate (1896-1898), approx. £600.000 average
HMS<i>Cressy, HMS<i>Aboukir, HMS<i>Bacchante, HMS<i>Hogue, HMS<i>Sutlej, HMS<i>Euryalus (1899-1901), approx. £800,000 average
HMS<i>Drake(1901) £1,002,977
HMS<i>Good Hope(1901) £990,759
HMS<i>King Alfred(1901) £978,125
HMS<i>Leviathan(1901) £1,012,959
HMS<i>Monmouth, HMS<i>Bedford, HMS<i>Donegal, HMS<i>Berwick, HMS<i>Kent, HMS<i>Cumberland, HMS<i>Cornwall(1902), HMS<i>Essex(1901), HMS<i>Suffolk(1903), HMS<i>Lancaster(1902) (1901-1903), approx. £775,000 average
HMS<i>Devonshire, HMS<i>Antrim, HMS<i>Argyll, HMS<i>Carnarvon, HMS<i>Hampshire, HMS<i>Roxburgh (1903-1904), approx. £850,000 average
HMS<i>Duke of Edinburgh, HMS<i>Black Prince (1904), approx. £1,150,000 average
HMS<i>Warrior, HMS<i>Cochrane, HMS<i>Natal, HMS<i>Achilles (1905), approx. £1,180,000 average
HMS<i>Minotaur(1906) £1,410,356
HMS<i>Defence(1907) £1,362,970
HMS<i>Shannon(1906) £1,415,535
Light Cruisers
HMS<i>Courageous (1916) £2,038,225
HMS<i>Edgar(1890) £410,980
HMS<i>Hawke(1891) £400,702
HMS<i>Endymion(1891) £375,250
HMS<i>Royal Arthur(1891) £412,033
HMS<i>Gibraltar(1892) £373,236
HMS<i>Grafton(1892) £372,890
HMS<i>St George(1892) £388,755
HMS<i>Theseus(1892) £370,359
HMS<i>Crescent(1892) £392,453
HMS<i>Apollo, HMS<i>Aeolus, HMS<i>Andromache, HMS<i>Brilliant, HMS<i>Indefatigable, HMS<i>Intrepid, HMS<i>Iphigenia, HMS<i>Latona, HMS<i>Melampus, HMS<i>Naiad, HMS<i>Pique, HMS<i>Rainbow, HMS<i>Retribution, HMS<i>Sappho, HMS<i>Scylla, HMS<i>Sirius, HMS<i>Spartan, HMS<i>Sybille, HMS<i>Terpsichore, HMS<i>Thetis, HMS<i>Tribune (1890-1892) - approx. £200,000 average
HMS<i>Highflyer, HMS<i>Hermes, HMS<i>Hyacinth (1898) - approx. £300,000 average
HMS<i>Pelorus, HMS<i>Pandora, HMS<i>Pegasus, HMS<i>Perseus, HMS<i>Pactolus, HMS<i>Pioneer, HMS<i>Pomone, HMS<i>Prometheus, HMS<i>Proserpine, HMS<i>Psyche, HMS<i>Pyramus (1896-1900) = approx. £150,000 average
HMS<i>Topaze, HMS<i>Amethyst, HMS<i>Diamond, HMS<i>Sapphire (1903-1904) - approx. £240,000 average
HMS<i>Sentinel, HMS<i>Skirmisher - approx. £282,000 average
HMS<i>Forward, HMS<i>Foresight (1904) - approx. £289,000 average
HMS<i>Pathfinder, HMS<i>Patrol Laid down 1904 - approx. £279,000 average
HMS<i>Adventure, HMS<i>Attentive (1904) - approx. £275,000 average
HMS<i>Boadicea, HMS<i>Bellona (1908-1909) - approx. £330,000 average
HMS<i>Weymouth, HMS<i>Dartmouth, HMS<i>Falmouth, HMS<i>Yarmouth(1911) (1910-1911) £396,363 average
HMS<i>Chatham, HMS<i>Dublin, HMS<i>Southampton, HMAS<i>Sydney (RAN), HMAS<i>Melbourne (RAN), HMAS<i>Brisbane (RAN) - £334,053 average
HMS<i>Arethusa, HMS<i>Aurora, HMS<i>Galatea, HMS<i>Inconstant, HMS<i>Penelope, HMS<i>Phaeton, HMS<i>Royalist, HMS<i>Undaunted - approx. £285,000 average
Monitors
HMS<i>Humber, HMS<i>Mersey, HMS<i>Severn £155,000 each. Bought from Brazil.
HMS<i>Gorgon, HMS<i>Glatton £370,000 each. From Norway.
HMS<i>Marshal Soult, HMS<i>Marshal Ney £270,000 each
HMS<i>Erebus £380,000 + used weaponry. Would have cost about £540,000 with new weaponry.
HMS<i>General Wolfe and other 12inch monitors approx. £260,000 (before conversions with larger guns).
Destroyers
HMS<i>Acheron £88,000
HMS<i>Beagle £106,000
HMS<i>Defender £83,000
HMS<i>Acorn £94,000
HMS<i>Acasta - £100,000
HMS<i>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-classdestroyers - £200,000
Minesweepers
Flower-classsloops £60,000
Submarines
D-class submarines £89,000
Greece
Pre-Dreadnoughts
Lemnos (ex-USS<i>Idaho(BB-24)) and Kilkis (ex-USS<i>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 "Cammell 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<i>De Ruyter(1901), HNLMS<i>Hertog Hendrik (1901), HNLMS<i>Jacob van Heemskerck(1906), HNLMS<i>Koningin Regentes (1900), HNLMS<i>Maarten Harpertszoon Tromp(1904) £347,500 each
Cruisers
HNLMS<i>Friesland(1896), HNLMS<i>Holland(1896), HNLMS<i>Zeeland(1897) £285,700
Norway
Coast Defence
HNoMS<i>Eidsvold (1899), HNoMS<i>Norge (1899) £350,000 each
HNoMS<i>Harald Haarfagre (1897), HNoMS<i>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<i>Fylgia £385,700
HSwMS<i>Sverige £666,000
Ottoman Empire
Pre-dreadnoughts
Barbaros Hayreddin (ex-German SMS<i>Kurfürst Friedrich Wilhelm), Turgut Reis (ex-German SMS<i>Weissenburg) £450,000 each

 Dreadnought Rising project
 Extracts from Brassey's Naval Annual.


Leyland, J. and Brassey, T.A. (ed)The Naval Annual 1906
 Costs of Warships and Aircraft (1900–1918): A forumini research project.
Barry Slemmings, 
 World War I Naval Combat