High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! HMS King George V (pennant number 41) was the lead ship of the five British King George V-class battleships of the Royal Navy. Laid down in 1937 and commissioned in 1940, King George V operated during the Second World War as part of the British Home and Pacific Fleets. Along with HMS Rodney, King George V severely damaged the German battleship Bismarck which led to the German vessel sinking in May 1941. On 1 May 1942 HMS Punjabi sank after a collision with King George V. King George V took part in Operation Husky (the allied landings in Sicily) and bombarded the island of Levanzo and the port of Trapani. She also escorted part of the surrendered Italian Fleet, which included the battleships Andrea Doria and Caio Duilio, to Malta. In 1945 King George V took part in operations against the Japanese in the Pacific.