Batman Posted 31 May, 2016 Share Posted 31 May, 2016 (edited) 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 Edited 31 May, 2016 by Batman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitey Grandad Posted 31 May, 2016 Share Posted 31 May, 2016 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buctootim Posted 31 May, 2016 Share Posted 31 May, 2016 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sergei Gotsmanov Posted 31 May, 2016 Share Posted 31 May, 2016 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Batman Posted 31 May, 2016 Author Share Posted 31 May, 2016 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitey Grandad Posted 31 May, 2016 Share Posted 31 May, 2016 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'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badgerx16 Posted 31 May, 2016 Share Posted 31 May, 2016 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitey Grandad Posted 31 May, 2016 Share Posted 31 May, 2016 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edprice1984 Posted 31 May, 2016 Share Posted 31 May, 2016 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldNick Posted 31 May, 2016 Share Posted 31 May, 2016 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Biscuits Posted 1 June, 2016 Share Posted 1 June, 2016 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sergei Gotsmanov Posted 1 June, 2016 Share Posted 1 June, 2016 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saint137 Posted 1 June, 2016 Share Posted 1 June, 2016 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badgerx16 Posted 1 June, 2016 Share Posted 1 June, 2016 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/ ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sadoldgit Posted 2 June, 2016 Share Posted 2 June, 2016 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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