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Initially the German gunnery proved far more
effective, but the fight was growing in severity as the battlecruisers
converged on each other and both sides risked severe punishment
as the range closed rapidly to about 13,000 yards.
The most serious of the early blows was
a shell, which burst on the top of the left gun of the Lion's
'Q' Turret. The blast peeled back the roof and front of the
turret as though it were cardboard and killed or wounded most of the
crew. The now open-topped turret caught fire and there was an
obvious mortal danger should the fire spread to the magazine. The
'Q' Turret was manned by the Royal Marines under Major Francis
Harvey. He was severely wounded, having lost both of his
legs, but retained the presence of mind to issue the crucial orders.
The ship was saved.
During the main engagement between the battlecruisers,
the pace of the action remained frenetic. At 16.02, a salvo from
the Von der Tann crashed down on to the Indefatigable.
By accident or design she sheered out of line to starboard and
a few seconds later a second salvo hit her. It seems likely that
the cordite charges in the 'X' Turret were ignited and a flash
passed down to the magazines aft. It is however entirely possible
that a shell penetrated right through the armour and set off the
magazine directly. Signaller Falmer was aloft in the foretop when
the 11" shells struck the Indefatigable. It was a moment
of stupefying destruction that he witnessed from literally within
the eye of the storm.
There was a terrific explosion aboard
the ship, the magazines went. I saw the guns go up in the air
just like matchsticks - 12" guns they were - bodies and everything.
She was beginning to settle down. Within half a minute the ship
turned right over and she was gone. I was 180 foot up and I was
thrown well clear of the ship otherwise I would have been sucked
under. I was practically unconscious, turning over really. At
last I came on top of the water. When I came up there was another
fellow named Jimmy Green and we got a piece of wood, he was on
one end and I was on the other end. A couple of minutes afterwards
some shells came over and Jim was minus his head so I was left
on my lonesome. Signaller C. Falmer, Indefatigable
The other 1,017 men serving aboard were
all killed. Such an instantaneous casualty list is too horrible
to contemplate. Not wounded, not crippled nor mentally scarred –
but dead.
The two battlecruiser fleets were now equally
matched in number. If the 5th Battle Squadron had been there,
as Jellicoe had intended, then although the Indefatigable
might still have been lost, it is reasonably certain that
Hipper's battlecruisers would have suffered a much more severe
pounding. It was only at 16.05, that they finally sighted the
German battlecruisers, and they opened fire at extreme range.
Further forward in the line, with both
the Seydlitz and Derfflinger firing hard at
the Queen Mary, the barrage of accurate shells began
to tell. Midshipman Storey was in one of her turrets.
A heavy shell hit our turret and put
the right gun out of action, but killed nobody. Three minutes
later as awful explosion took place which smashed up our turret
completely. The left gun broke in half and fell into the working
chamber and the right one came right back. A cordite fire got
going and a lot of the fittings got loose and killed a lot of
people. Midshipman Jocelyn Storey, Queen Mary
As more shells crashed home there was an
illusion of silence, probably caused by a mixture of temporary
deafness and sheer mind numbing shock. In another turret Petty
Officer Ernest Francis realised something was seriously wrong.
Everything in the ship went as quiet
as a church, the floor of the turret was bulged up and the guns
were absolutely useless. I must mention here that there was not
a sign of excitement. One man turned to me and said, "What do
you think has happened?" I said, "Steady everyone, I will speak
to Mr Ewart." I went back to the cabinet and said, "What do you
think has happened, Sir?" He said, "God only knows!" I put my
head through the hole in the roof of the turret and I nearly fell
through again. The after 4" Battery was smashed right out of all
recognition and then I noticed that the ship had an awful list
to port. I dropped back inside and told Lieutenant Ewart the state
of affairs. He said, "Francis, we can do no more than give them
a chance, clear the turret". "Clear the turret!" I called out
and out they went. Petty Officer Ernest Francis, Queen
Mary
Once out on deck they found the decks at
a crazy angle. Inevitably, some men hesitated before entering
the water. Some were convinced that their ship would yet survive,
despite the evidence of their senses. Francis was not so sure.
When I got to the ship's side there
seemed to be a fair crowd and they did not appear to be very anxious
to take to the water. I called out to them, "Come on, you chaps,
who's coming for a swim?" Someone answered, "She will float for
a long time yet!" But something, I don't pretend to understand
what it was, seemed to be urging me to get away, so I clambered
up over the slimy bilge keel and fell off into the water, followed
I should think by about five more men. Petty Officer
Ernest Francis, Queen Mary
The final explosions were cataclysmic and
must have killed most of the men in the water near the ship as
the crushing shock passed through the water, followed by a rain
of debris falling from the sky. Francis takes up the story.
I struck away from the ship as hard
as I could and must have covered nearly 50 yards when there was
a big smash. Stopping and looking round the sir seemed to be full
of fragments and flying pieces, a large piece seemed to be right
above my head and acting on an impulse I dipped under to avoid
being struck and stayed under as long as I could and then came
on top again. Coming behind me I heard a rush of water, which
looked very much like a surf breaking on a beach and I realised
it was the suction or backwash from the ship which had just gone.
I hardly had time to fill my lungs with air when it was on me.
I felt it was no use struggling against it, so I let myself go
for a moment or two, then I struck out, but I felt it was a losing
game and remarked to myself mentally, "What's the use of struggling
– you're done!" and actually eased my efforts to reach the top,
when a small voice seemed to say, "Dig out!" I started afresh
and something bumped against me. I grasped it and afterwards found
it was a large hammock; it undoubtedly pulled me to the top, more
dead than alive. Petty Officer Ernest Francis, HMS Queen
Mary, 1st Battlecruiser Squadron
For Beatty this was a truly stunning blow.
He had entered into combat filled with confidence and a numerical
superiority of six battlecruisers to the German four. Now within
45 minutes he had lost two.
The reasons behind this shocking outcome
were twofold. British battlecruisers
were intrinsically more vulnerable than German ships. The
armour over their vitals and the scale of the compartmentation
below the water line was not comparable to the German standards.
Also, they had not had the timely warning given to the Germans
by the near demise of the Seydlitz at the Battle of Dogger
Bank. They therefore had not grasped just how easily a flash could
be communicated from the turret to the magazines, via the handling and working
chambers. The competitive
culture of the Royal Navy also played its part - in order to gain a few second's advantage in
loading the guns, corners were cut. The Germans had learned a hard
lesson, and adopted some precautions
that had restricted this potential for disaster.
As these dramatic events were unfolding
the destroyers went into action, swirling round like
a mad dogfight, too fast for any single man to analyse and control.
Individual captains made spur of the moment, reactive decisions, their crews
responding instinctively to the demands of the
moment as best they could. The Seydlitz was torpedoed
and the unluckier destroyers were left crippled and wallowing in between
the fleets.
Hipper had performed his reconnaissance
and entrapment role to perfection. Scheer was kept admirably well
informed as to events, and it seemed that his plans to entice
the inferior section of the Grand Fleet into his maw were about to
reach fruition.
The first British ships to sight the High
Seas Fleet were the light cruisers scouting some three miles ahead
of Beatty. The moment they signalled back at 16.33, Beatty's position
was transformed. No longer the gallant admiral accepting casualties
in the pursuit of his weaker prey; he was now the prey. His sole
duty was to lead the British High Sea Fleet under the guns of the
German Grand
Fleet, whilst ensuring that he passed as much intelligence as possible
to his Commander in Chief. The C-in-C in turn would have
ultimate responsibility of achieving the destruction of the German fleet. At 16.40, Beatty
issued a general signal for a turn to the north. Once again controversy
resulted: was the signal made 'executive' at the correct time?
Whatever the case the Fifth Battle Squadron did not turn
immediately.
As they ran on to the south, the Fifth
Battle Squadron were still pounding Hipper's battlecruisers, but
the situation was fast slipping out of control. Lieutenant Brind
was aboard HMS Malaya:
The Fifth Battle Squadron turned 16
points to starboard in succession. I must confess to a feeling
of relief when I realised that we were to turn round, though not
at it being done in succession. When it was the turn of the Malaya
to turn, the turning point was a very hot corner, as of course
the enemy had concentrated on that point. The shells pouring at
a very rapid rate and it is doubtful if we, the last ship in the
line could get through without at least a severe hammering. However
the Captain decided that point by turning the ship early. When
we had turned or rather as I was turning my turret to the starboard
side I saw our Battlecruisers who were proceeding northerly at
full speed, were already quite 8,000 yards ahead of us, engaging
the German Battlecruisers. I then realised that the four of us
alone - Barham, Warspite, Valiant and Malaya – would have to entertain
the High Seas Fleet. Lieutenant Patrick Brind, HMS Malaya
The Fifth Battle Squadron was still
exposed to a threatening concentration of fire from the leading
Third Battle Squadron of the High Seas Fleet.
The crew of a crippled destroyer, the Nestor,
had been left stranded by the recent action and had the macabre
experience of watching possible death steaming towards them in
slow motion. There was nothing they could do. The Germans opened
fire on the helpless destroyer at a range of about five miles.
The usual heart rending dramas which mark the last moments of
a sinking were played out in front of Petty Officer, George Betsworth.
I went over and saw some of the lads
come up out of the engine room. This kid, he's only just joined
the ship before we left the Forth, he was smothered in blood
and silicate cotton from the lagging of the steam pipes. It was
awful to see this kid, he hadn't been left home five minutes you
might say. Quick bit of training and sent to us, like many others.
I got hold of him in all the hurry and scramble and this kid died
in my arms. I couldn't do anything else with him.Everybody else
had more or less left the ship. I thought, "Well there's only
one thing for it now – over the side!" I dived over and swam away
from the ship or what was left of it as she was gradually sinking.
Petty Officer, George Betsworth, HMS Nestor
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The crew of the Nestor had upheld
the long and often glorious traditions of the Royal Navy.
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