Jutland 100

100 years since the battle of Jutland

A victory for the RN and the U.K. Which came at a huge cost

An absolutely vast navy back then

I used to have some cigarette cards about this which my grandfather must have collected so some of the names and images are very familiar to me. At that time it would only have been 40 years since the events. I have the utmost respect for all those who served in that conflict.

100 years since the battle of Jutland

 

A victory for the RN and the U.K. Which came at a huge cost

 

More of a draw. We lost more ships and men, but from a bigger navy.

More of a draw. We lost more ships and men, but from a bigger navy.

The Germans never tried to take us on again and the blockade continued to the end of the war. Not sure I would have called that a draw.

More of a draw. We lost more ships and men, but from a bigger navy.

That battle ensured superiority on the sea for the rest of the war.

Hardly a draw

That battle ensured superiority on the sea for the rest of the war.

 

Hardly a draw

It demonstrated that the British had supremacy of the seas and ensured that Germany never tried another escapade. As an American journalist put it, 'The prisoner has assaulted his jailer but he is still in jail'.

Just imagine you are a lookout on the lead German battleship, and as your ship emerges from a bank of mist you see the British Grand Fleet, ( which you believe to be still in port ), arranged in line, stretching directly across your course from one edge of the horizon to the other. At that moment you probably realise that victory is not an option.

It was only a special manoeuvre that saved the German fleet. They had practised a 'battle turn away' where every ship turned simultaneously. It required great seamanship.

The German fleet had practised a manoeuvre for just such a predicament: the ‘Battle Turn Away’ (Gefechtskehrtwendung). This manoeuvre required each ship to turn away simultaneously, covered by a smoke screen generated by the destroyers and light cruisers. In the confusion of battle a high degree of seamanship was required of the battleship’s captains.

My Great Grandfather fought at Jutland. He joined up on his 16th birthday (14th August 1914) and was still classed as 'Boy' at the battle. Brave men and boys who helped win the war, although not obvious at the time. The blockade ensured that Germany would always sue for peace.

Jack Travis Cornwall died at Jutland ages 16. He was awarded the VC. Many of you will know of Jacks Corner the playground at the Sports Centre named in memory of him

It was a phyrric victory at best for the Royal Navy.

My great Grandads brother served at Jutland, he saw stuff all as he was a stoker. The family story is that he only knew they'd been in a fight after it was all over.

It was a phyrric victory at best for the Royal Navy.

 

My great Grandads brother served at Jutland, he saw stuff all as he was a stoker. The family story is that he only knew they'd been in a fight after it was all over.

I like that.

Interesting reading the history as I had family on battleships in the mid-20s. Prince of Wales & Hood I believe. Fortunately not on them for WW2!

As with so much military history its shocking how basic cock-ups led to huge loss of life - magazine doors open, cordite stored in corridors. One of the Jutland VCs is for a Marine who ordered the magazine flooded shortly before a huge flash fire which would have meant the same fate as befell QE & Indefatigable - 1000+ lives saved with his dying breath.

As with so much military history its shocking how basic cock-ups led to huge loss of life - magazine doors open, cordite stored in corridors.

The Navy's emphasis for gunnery was on 'rate of fire' rather than pure accuracy, and each main gun shell required 4 bags of cordite, ( each approx 270 lbs for 13.5" main guns), which had to effectively be hauled up 4 storeys from the magazines each time a gun was reloaded, so each turret needed to move 8 bags every 30 seconds ( for 'rapid fire' ), in addition to the shells themselves. In 1913 the RN increased the amount of ammunition that was to be carried on the Battleships and Battle-Cruisers, such that it could not all be stored in the magazines, so such short cuts were tolerated.

( see http://forum.worldofwarships.eu/index.php?/topic/331-loss-of-the-british-battle-cruisers/ )

Interesting programme on the other night by Dan Snow which pointed out that the German ships took more hits but stayed afloat whereas many of ours sunk with fewer hits. Also that tactics/communications had barely changed since Nelson's days.