Order of battle at Jutland

World War I order of battle

Maps showing the approach of the fleets to the Battle of Jutland and details of the two major actions.

The Battle of Jutland was fought on 31 May and 1 June 1916, in the waters of the North Sea, between forces of the Royal Navy and Imperial German Navy. The battle involved 250 warships, and, in terms of combined tonnage of vessels engaged, was the largest naval battle in history.

The engagement was the result of the high commands of the two nations' eagerness to give their publics a victory in contrast to the stalemate on the ground in Western Europe (the Battle of Verdun had been underway for three months at the time the opposing fleets sortied). Both navies had plans to lure the other's battlecruisers into a trap where they could be defeated by a superior force of battleships.[1]

In the event, the battle had no impact on the course of the war and victory was claimed by both sides.

## Summary

[edit]

### Ships present

[edit]

| Royal Navy  | Imperial German Navy

|
|

Dreadnoughts

28 total

8 × 15-in. main-battery broadside

2 × Revenge class (28,000 tons, 21 kn.)
4 × Queen Elizabeth class (27,500 tons, 24 kn.)

10 × 14-in. main-battery broadside

HMS Canada (28,622 tons, 23 kn.)

10 × 13.5-in. main-battery broadside

3 × King George V class (25,420 tons, 21 kn.)
3 × Iron Duke class (25,000 tons, 21.5 kn.)
HMS Erin (22,780 tons, 21 kn.)
4 × Orion class (21,922 tons, 21 kn.)

14 × 12-in. main-battery broadside

HMS Agincourt (28,750 tons, 22 kn.)

10 × 12-in. main-battery broadside

2 × Colossus class (20,030 tons, 21 kn.)
HMS Neptune (19,680 tons, 21 kn.)

8 × 12-in. main-battery broadside

3 × St Vincent class (19,700 tons, 21 kn.)
3 × Bellerophon class (18,596 tons, 21 kn.)

16 total

10 × 12-in. main-battery broadside

4 × Kaiser class (25,420 tons, 21 kn.)
4 × König class (25,389 tons, 21 kn.)

8 × 12-in. main-battery broadside

4 × Helgoland class (22,448 tons, 20.5 kn.)

8 × 11-in. main-battery broadside

4 × Nassau class (18,575 tons, 19 kn.)

Pre-dreadnought
battleships

|  |

6 total

4 × 11-in. main-battery broadside

SMS Hessen (12,999 tons, 18 kn.)
5 × Deutschland class (12,983 tons, 19 kn.)

Battlecruisers

9 total

8 × 13.5-in. main-battery broadside

HMS Tiger (28,500 tons, 28 kn.)
HMS Queen Mary (26,770 tons, 28 kn.)
2 × Lion class (26,270 tons, 27.5 kn.)

8 × 12-in. main-battery broadside

2 × Indefatigable class (18,500 tons, 25.8 kn.)
3 × Invincible class (17,250 tons, 25 kn.)

5 total

8 × 12-in. main-battery broadside

2 × Derfflinger class (26,200 tons, 26.5 kn.)

10 × 11-in. main-battery broadside

SMS Seydlitz (24,593 tons, 26.5 kn.)
SMS Moltke (22,216 tons, 25.5 kn.)

8 × 11-in. main-battery broadside

SMS Von der Tann (19,060 tons, 24.8 kn.)

Armoured
cruisers

8 total

4 × 9.2-in., 5 × 7.5-in. main-battery broadside

3 × Minotaur class (14,600 tons, 23 kn.)

4 × 9.2-in., 2 × 7.5-in. main-battery broadside

2 × Warrior class (12,590 tons, 23 kn.)

4 × 9.2-in., 5 × 6-in. main-battery broadside

2 × Duke of Edinburgh class (12,590 tons, 23 kn.)

3 × 7.5-in., 3 × 6-in. main-battery broadside

HMS Hampshire (10,850 tons, 22 kn.)

Smaller ships

| 26 × light cruisers
79 × destroyers (including one destroyer-minelayer)  | 11 × light cruisers
61 × torpedo boats

* The British capital ships carried a larger weight of broadside—332,360 lb (150,760 kg) compared to 134,216 lb (60,879 kg)—than the German ones.[2]
* The German Navy's torpedo boats were of similar size and function to the destroyers in the Royal Navy, and are often referred to as such.[citation needed]

### Losses

[edit]

| Dreadnoughts  | Pre-dreadnought
battleships  | Battlecruisers  | Armoured
cruisers  | Light
cruisers  | Destroyers /
Torpedo boats

|
|
|
|
|
|

Royal
Navy |  |  | HMS Invincible (31st)
HMS Queen Mary (31st)
HMS Indefatigable (31st) | HMS Defence (31st)
HMS Warrior (1st)
HMS Black Prince (1st) |  | 3 (31st)
5 (1st)
Imperial
German
Navy |  | SMS Pommern (1st) | SMS Lützow (1st) |  | SMS Frauenlob (31st)
SMS Rostock (1st)
SMS Elbing (1st)
SMS Wiesbaden (1st)
| 3 (31st)
2 (1st)

* Number in parentheses indicates date of loss (31st May or 1st June)

## Abbreviations

[edit]

Officers killed in action are indicated thus:  †

Abbreviations for officers’ ranks (German ranks translated according to current NATO practice)[a][clarification needed]:

Adm / Admiral
VAdm / Vice-admiral : Vizeadmiral / VAdm
RAdm / Rear-admiral : Konteradmiral / KAdm
Cdre / Commodore : Kommodore / Kom
Capt / Captain : Kapitän zur See / KptzS
Cdr / Commander : Fregattenkapitän / FKpt
Lt Cdr / Lieutenant-commander : Korvettenkapitän / KKpt
Lt / Lieutenant : Kapitänleutnant / KptLt
SLt / Sub-lieutenant : Oberleutnant zur See / OLtzS

Other abbreviations

Frhr:Freiherr / title in the Prussian nobility equivalent to Baron)
SMS: Seiner Majestät Schiff / German; translation: His Majesty's Ship)
the Hon.: The Honourable

## Royal Navy

[edit]

Admiral Sir John R. Jellicoe Dreadnoughts of VAdm Jerram's 2nd Battle Squadron of the Grand Fleet Battleship King George V, at anchor Battleship Agincourt underway, at 28,750 tons the largest ship in the Grand Fleet; as all her fourteen 12-inch guns were placed along the centerline, she also had the most powerful broadside at the Battle of Jutland.

### Grand Fleet

[edit]

Began sortie from Scapa Flow 9.30pm 28 May[4]
The Grand Fleet[5][6] was the main body of the British Home Fleets in 1916, based at Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands and Invergordon on the Cromarty Firth in Scotland.[b]

Commander-in-chief, Grand Fleet: Admiral Sir John Rushworth Jellicoe, KCB KCVO in HMS Iron Duke
Second in Command, Grand Fleet: Vice-Admiral Sir Cecil Burney, KCB KCMG in HMS Marlborough

Chief of Staff: VAdm Sir Charles Edward Madden, KCB CVO
Captain of the Fleet: Cdre Lionel Halsey, C.B., C.M.G., AdC.
Master of the Fleet: Capt Oliver Elles Leggett

#### Battleships

[edit]

2nd Battle Squadron (battleships)[c]

Vice-Admiral Sir Thomas Henry Martyn Jerram

Sortied from Cromarty Firth; rendezvoused with Jellicoe's force around noon 31 May
1st Division: VAdm Jerram

HMS King George V (flagship): Capt Frederick Field
HMS Ajax: Capt George Henry Baird
HMS Centurion: Capt Michael Culme-Seymour
HMS Erin: Capt the Hon. Victor Stanley
2nd Division: RAdm Arthur Leveson

HMS Orion (flagship): Capt Oliver Backhouse
HMS Monarch: Capt George Borrett
HMS Conqueror: Capt Hugh Tothill
HMS Thunderer: Capt James Fergusson

Fleet Flagship (at head of 3rd Division but not part of 4th Battle Squadron)

HMS Iron Duke: Capt Frederic Charles Dreyer

4th Battle Squadron (battleships)

Vice-Admiral Sir Frederick Charles Doveton Sturdee, 1st Baronet

3rd Division[d]: RAdm Alexander Duff

HMS Royal Oak: Capt Crawford Maclachlan
HMS Superb (flagship): Capt Edmond Hyde Parker
HMS Canada: Capt William Nicholson
4th Division: VAdm Sturdee

HMS Benbow (flagship): Capt Henry Wise Parker
HMS Bellerophon: Capt Edward Francis Bruen
HMS Temeraire: Capt Edwin Veale Underhill
HMS Vanguard: Capt James Douglas Dick

1st Battle Squadron (battleships)[e]

Admiral Sir Cecil Burney
Chief of Staff: Cdre Percy Grant

5th Division: RAdm Ernest Frederick Augustus Gaunt

HMS Colossus (flagship): Capt Dudley Pound
HMS Collingwood: Capt James Clement Ley
HMS St. Vincent: Capt William Wordsworth Fisher
HMS Neptune Capt Vivian Bernard
6th Division: VAdm Burney

HMS Marlborough (flagship): Capt George Parish Ross
HMS Revenge: Capt Edward Buxton Kiddle
HMS Hercules: Capt Lewis Clinton-Baker
HMS Agincourt: Capt Henry Montagu Doughty

#### Cruisers

[edit]

Armoured cruiser Black Prince, lost with all hands the night of 31 May–1 June Light cruiser Boadicea at anchor

1st Cruiser Squadron (armoured cruisers)[f]

Rear-Admiral Sir Robert Keith Arbuthnot, 4th Baronet †

HMS Defence (sunk 31 May) (flagship): Capt Stanley Venn Ellis †
HMS Warrior (sunk 1 June): Capt Vincent Barkly Molteno
HMS Duke of Edinburgh: Capt Henry Blackett
HMS Black Prince (sunk 1 June): Capt Thomas Parry Bonham †

2nd Cruiser Squadron (armoured cruisers)[g]
Rear-Admiral Herbert Leopold Heath

HMS Minotaur (flagship): Capt Arthur Cloudesley Shovel Hughes D'Aeth [h]
HMS Hampshire: Capt Herbert John Savill
HMS Shannon: Capt John Saumarez Dumaresq
HMS Cochrane: Capt Eustace La Trobe Leatham

4th Light Cruiser Squadron
Commodore Charles Edward Le Mesurier

HMS Calliope: Cdre Le Mesurier
HMS Constance: Capt Cyril Samuel Townsend
HMS Comus: Capt Alan Geoffrey Hotham
HMS Caroline: Capt Henry Ralph Crooke
HMS Royalist: Capt the Hon. Herbert Meade

Light cruisers attached for repeating visual signals

HMS Boadicea: Capt Louis Charles Stirling Woollcombe (attached to 2nd B.S.)
HMS Active: Capt Percy Withers (attached to Fleet Flagship)
HMS Blanche: Capt John Moore Casement (attached to 4th B.S.)
HMS Bellona: Capt Arthur Brandreth Scott Dutton (attached to 1st B.S.)

Other ships under direct command of the Commander-in-Chief[i]

HMS Abdiel: Cdr Berwick Curtis (destroyer-minelayer)
HMS Oak: Lt Cdr Douglas Faviell (destroyer)

#### Destroyers

[edit]

Faulknor-class destroyer Tipperary, sunk on the night of 31 May–1 June taking 150 crew and flotilla captain John Wintour Destroyer Spitfire after having been rammed by the German battleship Nassau during the Battle of Jutland Faulknor-class destroyer Broke at speed Destroyer Ambuscade C-class light cruiser Castor The bow and stern of battlecruiser Invincible standing upright on the bed of the North Sea after exploding during the Battle of Jutland. Rear Adm. Hood and Capt. Cay were killed along with the crew.

4th Destroyer Flotilla[j]
Captain Charles John Wintour †
HMS Tipperary (sunk 1 June) (flotilla leader): Capt Wintour †

First half-flotilla / 4th D.F.

HMS Spitfire: Lt Cdr Clarence Walter Eyre Trelawney
HMS Sparrowhawk (scuttled 1 June following collision): Lt Cdr Sydney Hopkins
HMS Garland: Lt Cdr Reginald Stannus Goff
HMS Contest: Lt Cdr Ernald Gilbert Hoskins Master
Group 8 / 4th D.F.[k]

HMS Owl: Cdr Robert Gerald Hamond
HMS Hardy: Cdr Richard Anthony Aston Plowden
HMS Mischief: Lt Cdr the Hon. Cyril Augustus Ward (from 12th D.F.)
HMS Midge: Lt Cdr James Robert Carnegie Cavendish
Second half-flotilla / 4th D.F.

HMS Broke (flotilla leader): Cdr Walter Lingen Allen
3rd Division / 4th D.F.

HMS Porpoise: Cdr Hugh Davenport Colville
HMS Unity: Lt Cdr Arthur Macaulay Lecky
4th Division / 4th D.F.

HMS Achates: Cdr Reginald Becher Caldwell Hutchinson, D.S.C.
HMS Ambuscade: Lt Cdr Gordon Alston Coles
HMS Ardent (sunk 1 June): Lt Cdr Arthur Marsden
HMS Fortune (sunk 1 June): Lt Cdr Frank Goodrich Terry †

11th Destroyer Flotilla[l]
Commodore Hawksley

HMS Castor (light cruiser)
First half-flotilla / 11th D.F.

1st Division / 11th D.F.

HMS Ossory: Cdr Harold Victor Dundas
HMS Martial: Lt Cdr Julian Harrison
HMS Magic: Lt Cdr Gerald Charles Wynter
HMS Minion: Lt Cdr Henry Clive Rawlings
2nd Division / 11th D.F.

HMS Mystic: Cdr Claud Finlinson Allsup
HMS Mons: Lt Cdr Robert Makin
HMS Mandate: Lt Cdr Edward McConnell Wyndham Lawrie
HMS Michael: Lt Cdr Claude Lindsay Bate
Second half-flotilla/11th D.F.

HMS Kempenfelt (flotilla leader): Cdr Harold Ernest Sulivan
3rd Division / 11th D.F.

HMS Marne: Lt Cdr George Bibby Hartford
HMS Milbrook: Lt Charles Granville Naylor
HMS Manners: Lt Cdr Gerald Cartmell Harrison
4th Division / 11th D.F.

HMS Moon: Cdr (Acting) William Dion Irvin
HMS Mounsey: Lt Cdr Ralph Vincent Eyre
HMS Morning Star: Lt Cdr Hugh Undecimus Fletcher

12th Destroyer Flotilla[m]
Captain Anselan John Buchanan Stirling

HMS Faulknor (flotilla leader): Capt Stirling
First half-flotilla / 12th D.F.

1st Division / 12th D.F.[8]

HMS Obedient: Cdr George William McOran Campbell
HMS Mindful: Lt Cdr John Jackson Cuthbert Ridley
HMS Marvel: Lt Cdr Reginald Watkins Grubb
HMS Onslaught: Lt Cdr Arthur Gerald Onslow  †
2nd Division / 12th D.F.

HMS Maenad: Cdr John Pelham Champion
HMS Narwhal: Lt Cdr Henry Victor Hudson
HMS Nessus: Lt Cdr Eric Quentin Carter
HMS Noble: Lt Cdr Henry Percy Boxer
Second half-flotilla / 12th D.F.: Cdr Norton Allen Sulivan

HMS Marksman (flotilla leader): Cdr Norton Allen Sulivan
HMS Opal: Cdr Charles Geoffrey Coleridge Sumner
HMS Nonsuch: Lt Cdr Herbert Inglis Nigel Lyon
HMS Menace: Lt Cdr Charles Astley Poignand
HMS Munster: Lt Cdr Spencer Francis Russell
HMS Mary Rose: Lt Cdr Edwin Anderson Homan

#### 3rd Battle Cruiser Squadron

[edit]

RAdm H.L.A. Hood (KIA)

This squadron, temporarily attached to the Grand Fleet from the Battle Cruiser Fleet, was stationed ahead of the main body, with the intention that it join Beatty when the action began.
Rear-Admiral The Hon. Horace Lambert Alexander Hood †

Battlecruisers

HMS Invincible (sunk 31 May) (flagship): Capt Arthur Lindesay Cay †
HMS Inflexible: Capt Edward Henry Fitzhardinge Heaton-Ellis
HMS Indomitable: Capt Francis William Kennedy
Accompanying cruisers

HMS Canterbury [n]: Capt Percy Molyneux Rawson Royds
HMS Chester [o]: Capt Robert Neale Lawson
Attached destroyers [p]

HMS Shark (sunk 31 May): Cdr Loftus William Jones †
HMS Ophelia: Cdr Lewis Gonne Eyre Crabbe (Admiralty M class)
HMS Christopher: Lt Cdr Fairfax Moresby Kerr
HMS Acasta: Lt Cdr John Ouchterlony Barron

### Battle Cruiser Fleet

[edit]

VAdm Sir David R. Beatty Battlecruiser Lion, VAdm Beatty's flagship, heavily damaged at the Battle of Jutland Battlecruiser Queen Mary exploding, 31 May 1916

This force of high-speed ships was subordinate to the Commander in Chief of the Grand Fleet, but operated independently as an advanced guard, intended to reconnoiter the enemy fleet and to engage enemy scouting forces. At its core were six battlecruisers, accompanied by 13 light cruisers, and escorted by 18 destroyers and an early aircraft carrier. [q]
Sortied from Firth of Forth soon after 6.00pm 30 May[4]
Vice-Admiral Sir David Richard Beatty in HMS Lion

Chief of Staff: Capt Rudolf Walter Bentinck

#### Battlecruisers

[edit]

HMS Lion: (flagship) Capt Alfred Chatfield
1st Battlecruiser Squadron: RAdm Osmond Brock,

HMS Princess Royal (flagship): Capt Walter Henry Cowan,
HMS Queen Mary (sunk 31 May): Capt Cecil Irby Prowse †
HMS Tiger: Capt Henry Bertram Pelly.
2nd Battlecruiser Squadron[r]: RAdm. William Pakenham,.

HMS New Zealand (flagship): Capt John Green
HMS Indefatigable (sunk 31 May): Capt Charles Fitzgerald Sowerby †

#### Light cruisers

[edit]

1st Light Cruiser Squadron: Cdre Edwyn Alexander-Sinclair

HMS Galatea Cdre Alexander-Sinclair
HMS Phaeton: Capt John Cameron
HMS Inconstant: Capt Bertram Thesiger
HMS Cordelia: Capt Tufton Beamish
2nd Light Cruiser Squadron: Cdre William Goodenough

HMS Southampton: Cdre Goodenough
HMS Birmingham: Capt Arthur Duff
HMS Nottingham: Capt Charles Blois Miller
HMS Dublin: Capt Albert Charles Scott
3rd Light Cruiser Squadron: RAdm Trevylyan Napier

HMS Falmouth (flagship): Capt John Douglas Edwards
HMS Yarmouth: Capt Thomas Drummond Pratt
HMS Birkenhead: Capt Edward Reeves
HMS Gloucester: Capt William Frederick Blunt

Attached vessel

seaplane tender HMS Engadine: Lt Cdr Charles Gwillim Robinson

aircraft: 2 Short Type 184 reconnaissance seaplanes, 2 Sopwith Baby fighter seaplanes

#### Destroyers

[edit]

Short Type 184 scout plane, the only British aircraft to take part in the Battle of Jutland Light cruiser Champion

13th Destroyer Flotilla[s]
Captain James Uchtred Farie

HMS Champion (light cruiser): Capt Farie
1st Division / 13th D.F.

HMS Obdurate: Lt Cdr Cecil Henry Hulton Sams
HMS Nerissa: Lt Cdr Montague George Bentinck Legge
HMS Termagant: Lt Cdr Cuthbert Patrick Blake (attached from 10th D.F., Harwich Force)
HMS Moresby: Lt Cdr Roger Vincent Alison (detached to escort HMS Engadine)
2nd Division / 13th D.F.[9]

HMS Nestor (sunk 31 May): Cdr the Hon. Edward Bingham
HMS Nomad (sunk 31 May): Lt Cdr Paul Whitfield
HMS Nicator: Lt Jack Ernest Albert Mocatta
HMS Onslow: Lt Cdr John Tovey (detached to escort HMS Engadine)
3rd Division / 13th D.F.[10]

HMS Narborough: Lt Cdr Geoffrey Corlett
HMS Pelican: Lt Cdr Kenneth Adair Beattie
HMS Petard: Lt Cdr Evelyn Thomson
HMS Turbulent (sunk 1 June)[t]: Lt Cdr Dudley Stuart †

Attached Harwich Destroyers (9th Destroyer Flotilla): Cdr Malcolm Lennon Goldsmith[u]

1st division / 9th D.F.

HMS Lydiard: Cdr Goldsmith
HMS Liberty: Lt Cdr Philip Wilfred Sidney King
HMS Landrail: Lt Cdr Francis Edward Henry Graham Hobart
2nd division / 9th D.F.

HMS Moorsom: Cdr John Coombe Hodgson (from 10th D.F.)
HMS Laurel: Lt Henry Dawson Crawford Stanistreet
HMS Morris: Lt Cdr Edward Sidney Graham (from 10th D.F.)

#### 5th Battle Squadron

[edit]

RAdm Hugh Evan-Thomas Battleship Barham, RAdm Evan-Thomas's flagship, at Scapa Flow in 1917

The 5th Battle Squadron was a special unit of fast Queen Elizabeth-class battleships, intended to act as the vanguard of the main battle line. At the Battle of Jutland, it operated with the Battlecruiser Fleet, and was escorted by the 1st Destroyer Flotilla.[v]
Rear-Admiral Hugh Evan-Thomas
Sortied from Firth of Forth with Battle Cruiser Fleet soon after 6.00pm 30 May

Battleships

HMS Barham (flagship): Capt Arthur William Craig
HMS Valiant: Capt Maurice Woollcombe
HMS Warspite: Capt Edward Montgomery Phillpotts
HMS Malaya: Capt the Hon. Algernon Boyle

1st Destroyer Flotilla [w] [12][13]

HMS Fearless (light cruiser): Capt Charles Donnison Roper
HMS Defender: Lt Cdr Laurence Reynolds Palmer
1st Division / 1st D.F.

HMS Acheron: Cdr Charles Ramsey
HMS Ariel: Lt Cdr Arthur Grendon Tippet
HMS Attack: Lt Cdr Charles Herbert Neill James
HMS Hydra: Lt Francis George Glossop
2nd Division / 1st D.F.

HMS Badger: Cdr Charles Albert Fremantle
HMS Lizard: Lt Cdr Edward Brooke
HMS Goshawk: Cdr Dashwood Fowler Moir
HMS Lapwing: Lt Cdr Alexander Hugh Gye

## Imperial German Navy

[edit]

VAdm Reinhard Scheer Dreadnoughts of the High Seas Fleet steam in a line of battle Battleship Friedrich der Grosse, VAdm Scheer's flagship Battleship Kaiser underway Light cruiser Frauenlob, sunk 31st May Light cruiser Rostock, scuttled 1st June after being torpedoed

### High Seas Fleet (Hochseeflotte)

[edit]

The High Seas Fleet was the main body of the German surface navy, principally based at Wilhelmshaven, on the Jade River in North-West Germany.[14][15]

Commander-in-Chief (Chef der Hochseeflotte): Vizeadmiral Reinhard Scheer in SMS Friedrich der Grosse

Chief of Staff: KptzS Adolf von Trotha
Chief of Operations: KptzS Magnus von Levetzow

#### Battleships

[edit]

3rd Battle Squadron (III. Geschwader) (battleships)[x]
Konteradmrial Paul Behncke
Flag lieutenant: Korvettenkapitän Frhr Ernst von Gagern

5th Division: KAdm Behncke

SMS König (flagship): KptzS Friedrich Brüninghaus
SMS Grosser Kurfürst: KptzS Ernst Goette
SMS Kronprinz: KptzS Constanz Feldt
SMS Markgraf: KptzS Karl Seiferling

6th Division: KAdm Hermann Nordmann

SMS Kaiser (flagship): KptzS Walter Freiherr von Keyserlingk [de]
SMS Prinzregent Luitpold: KptzS Karl Heuser
SMS Kaiserin: KptzS Karl Sievers

Fleet Flagship (Flaggschiff der Hochseeflotte)[y]

SMS Friedrich der Grosse: KptzS Theodor Fuchs

1st Battle Squadron (I. Geschwader) (battleships)[z]
Vizeadmiral Ehrhard Schmidt
Flag lieutenant: Korvettenkapitän Wolfgang Wegener

1st Division: VAdm Schmidt

SMS Ostfriesland (flagship): KptzS Ernst-Oldwig von Natzmer
SMS Thüringen: KptzS Hans Küsel
SMS Helgoland: KptzS Friedrich von Kameke
SMS Oldenburg: KptzS Wilhelm Höpfner

2nd Division: KAdm Walter Engelhardt

SMS Posen (flagship): KptzS Richard Lange
SMS Rheinland: KptzS Heinrich Rohardt
SMS Nassau: KptzS Robert Kühne
SMS Westfalen: KptzS Johannes Redlich

2nd Battle Squadron (II. Geschwader) (battleships)[aa]
Konteradmrial Franz Mauve [de]
Flag lieutenant: Korvettenkapitän Willy Kahlert

3rd Division: KAdm Mauve

SMS Deutschland (flagship): KptzS Hugo Meurer
SMS Hessen: KptzS Rudolf Bartels
SMS Pommern (sunk 1st June): KptzS Siegfried Bölken †

4th Division: KAdm Frhr Gottfried von Dalwigk zu Lichtenfels

SMS Hannover (flagship): KptzS Wilhlem Heine
SMS Schlesien: KptzS Friedrich Behncke
SMS Schleswig-Holstein: KptzS Eduard Varrentrapp

#### Light cruisers

[edit]

4th Scouting Group (IV. Aufklärungsgruppe) (light cruisers)[ab]
Kommodore Ludwig von Reuter
Flag lieutenant: Korvettenkapitän Heinrich Weber

SMS Stettin (flagship): FKpt Friedrich Rebensburg
SMS München: KKpt Oscar Böcker
SMS Frauenlob (sunk 31st May): FKpt Georg Hoffman †
SMS Stuttgart: FKpt Max Hagedorn
SMS Hamburg: KKpt Gerhard von Gaudecker [ac]

#### Torpedo boats

[edit]

German  Große Torpedoboote ("large torpedoboats") were the equivalent of British destroyers [ad].

First Leader of Torpedo-Boats
Kommodore Andreas Michelsen

SMS Rostock (scuttled 1st June) (light cruiser; flagship 1st Leader of Torpedo-Boats): FKpt Otto Feldmann [ae]

1st Torpedo-Boat Flotilla (I. Torpedoboots-Flottille)[af]

1st Half-Flotilla (1. Halbflottille)[ag]: KptLt Conrad Albrecht

SMS G39 (lead boat, half-flotilla): OLtzS Franz-Ferdinand von Loefen
SMS G40: KptLt Richard Beitzen
SMS G38: KptLt Hermann Metger
SMS S32: KptLt Hermann Froelich

3rd Torpedo-Boat Flotilla (III. Torpedoboots-Flottille)
Korvettenkapitän Wilhelm Hollmann

SMS S53 (lead boat, flotilla): KptLt Friedrich Götting
5th Half-Flotilla (5\. Halbflottille) [ah]: KptLt Theophil Gautier

SMS V71 (lead boat, half-flotilla): OLtzS Friedrich Ulrich
SMS V73: KptLt Martin Delbrück
SMS G88: KptLt Hans Scabell
6th Half-Flotilla (6\. Halbflottille)[ai]: Korvettenkapitän Theodor Riedel †[aj]

SMS V48 (lead boat, half-flotilla) (sunk 31st May): KptLt Friedrich Eckoldt †
SMS S54: KptLt Otto Karlowa
SMS G42: KptLt Bernd von Arnim

5th Torpedo-Boat Flotilla (V. Torpedoboots-Flottille)
Korvettenkapitän Oskar Heinecke

SMS G11 (lead boat, flotilla): KptLt Adolf Müller

9th Half-Flotilla (9\. Halbflottille): KptLt Gerhard Hoefer

SMS V2 (lead boat, half-flotilla): KptLt Gerhard Hoefer
SMS V4 (sunk 1st June): KptLt Armin Barop
SMS V6: OLtzS Hans Behrendt
SMS V1: OLtzS Hans Röthig
SMS V3: KptLt Manfred von Killinger
10th Half-Flotilla (10\. Halbflottille): KptLt Friedrich Klein

SMS G8 (lead boat, half-flotilla): OLtzS Ernst Rodenberg
SMS V5: OLtzS Paul Tils
SMS G7: KptLt Johannes Weinecke
SMS G9: KptLt Hans Anschütz
SMS G10: OLtzS Waldemar Haumann

7th Torpedo-Boat Flotilla (VII. Torpedoboots-Flottille)
Korvettenkapitän Gottlieb von Koch

SMS S24 (lead boat, flotilla): KptLt Max Fink
13th Half-Flotilla (13\. Halbflottille): KptLt Georg von Zitzewitz

SMS S15 (lead boat, half-flotilla): OLtzS Christian Schmidt
SMS S17: KptLt Hans-Joachim von Puttkammer
SMS S20: KptLt Albert Benecke
SMS S16: KptLt Walter Loeffler
SMS S18: KptLt Bruno Haushalter
14th Half-Flotilla (14\. Halbflottille)[ak]: Korvettenkapitän Hermann Cordes

SMS S19 (lead boat, half-flotilla): OLtzS Georg Reimer
SMS S23: KptLt Arthur von Killinger
SMS V189: OLtzS Wilhelm Keil

### Scouting Force

[edit]

Vadm Franz Hipper Battlecruiser Lützow, Vadm Hipper's flagship Battlecruiser Derfflinger firing a full broadside The soundness of German capital ship design was demonstrated by the tremendous amount of damage absorbed by battlecruiser Seydlitz leaving her still able to limp back to port.

> It is perhaps significant that all [British World War I] losses in big ships (Audacious, Indefatigable, Invincible, Queen Mary and Vanguard) were finally due to internal explosions, whereas no large German ships were lost from this cause.

— H.M. Le Fleming,
Warships of World War I (1961),
p. 37

Light cruiser Regensburg in 1920

Commander, Scouting Forces (Befehlshaber die Aufklärungsstreitkräfte): Vizeadmiral Franz Hipper
Flag lieutenant: Korvettenkapitän Erich Raeder[al]

#### Battlecruisers

[edit]

1st Scouting Group (I. Aufklärungsgruppe)

Vizeadmiral Hipper

SMS Lützow (flagship) (scuttled 1 June): KptzS Victor Harder
SMS Derfflinger: KptzS Johannes Hartog
SMS Seydlitz: KptzS Moritz von Egidy
SMS Moltke: KptzS Johannes von Karpf
SMS Von der Tann: KptzS Hans Zenker

#### Light cruisers

[edit]

2nd Scouting Group (II. Aufklärungsgruppe) [am]
Konteradmiral Friedrich Boedicker

SMS Frankfurt (flagship): KptzS Thilo von Trotha
SMS Elbing (scuttled 1 June): KFpt Rudolf Madlung
SMS Pillau: KFpt Konrad Mommsen [de]
SMS Wiesbaden (sunk 1 June): KFpt Fritz Reiß †

#### Torpedo boats

[edit]

Second Leader of Torpedo-Boats
Kommodore Paul Heinrich

SMS Regensburg (light cruiser; flagship Second Leader of Torpedo-Boats): KFpt Bruno Heuberer[an]

2nd Torpedo-Boat Flotilla (II. Torpedoboots-Flottille)
Commander Heinrich Schuur

SMS B98 (lead boat, flotilla): KptLt Theodor Hengstenberg

3rd Half-Flotilla (3. Halbflottille): KKpt Heinrich Boest

SMS G101 (lead boat, half-flotilla): KptLt Rudolf Schulte
SMS G102: KptLt von Barendorff
SMS B112: KptLt Carl August Claussen [de]
SMS B97: KptLt Leo Riedel

4th Half-Flotilla (4. Halbflottille): KKpt Adolf Dithmar

SMS B109 (lead boat, half-flotilla): KptLt Victor Hahndorff
SMS B110: KptLt August Vollheim
SMS B111: KptLt Heinrich Schickhardt
SMS G103: KptLt Fritz Spiess
SMS G104: KptLt Georg von Bartenwerffer

6th Torpedo-Boat Flotilla (VI. Torpedoboots-Flottille)
Lieut. Commander Max Schultz

SMS G41 (lead boat, flotilla): KptLt Hermann Boehm

11th Half-Flotilla (11. Halbflottille) [ao]: KptLt Wilhelm Rüman

SMS V44 (lead boat, half-flotilla): KptLt Karl von Holleuffer
SMS G87: KptLt Siegfried Karstens
SMS G86: KptLt Kurt Grimm

12th Half-Flotilla (12. Halbflottille): KptLt Rudolf Lahs

SMS V69 (lead boat, half-flotilla): KptLt Robert Stecher
SMS V45: KptLt Martin Laßmann
SMS V46: KptLt Bruno Krumhaar
SMS S50: KptLt Philipp Recke
SMS G37: KptLt Wolf von Trotha

9th Torpedo-Boat Flotilla (IX. Torpedoboots-Flottille)
Lieut. Commander Herbert Goehle

SMS V28 (lead boat, flotilla): KptLt Otto Lenssen

17th Half-Flotilla (17. Halbflottille): KptLt Hermann Ehrhardt

SMS V27 (sunk 31 May) (lead boat, half-flotilla): OLtzS Hartmut Buddecke
SMS V26: KptLt Hans Köhler
SMS S36: KptLt Franz Fischer
SMS S51: KptLt Werner Dette
SMS S52: KptLt Wilhelm Ehrentraut

18th Half-Flotilla (17. Halbflottille): Korvettenkapitän Werner Tillessen [de]

SMS V30 (lead boat, half-flotilla): OLtzS' Ernst Wolf
SMS S34: KptLt Otto Andersen
SMS S33: KptLt Waldemar von Münch
SMS V29 (sunk 31 May): KptLt Erich Steinbrinck †
SMS S35 (sunk 31 May): KptLt Friedrich Ihn †

### Submarines

[edit]

World War I German submarine

Leader of Submarines (Führer der Unterseeboote) : KptzS Hermann Bauer in SMS Hamburg
The following submarines were deployed to attack the Grand Fleet in the North Sea during the period of the Battle of Jutland

Off Terschelling:

U-46: KptLt Leo Hillebrand
U-67: KptLt Hans Nieland
Off the Humber Estuary:

UB-21: KptLt Ernst Hashagen
Off Flamborough Head, Yorkshire:

UB-22: OLtzS Bernhard Putzier
Off the Firth of Forth, Scotland:

U-52: KptLt Hans Walter
U-24: KptLt Rudolf Schneider
U-70: KptLt Otto Wünsche
U-32: KptLt Fahr Edgar von Spiegel von und zu Peckelsheim
U-51: KptLt Walter Rumpfel
U-63: KptLt Otto Schultze
U-66: KptLt Thorwald von Bothmer
Off Peterhead, Scotland:

U-47: KptLt Heinrich Metzger
Off the Pentland Firth (between the Orkneys and the Scottish mainland):

U-44: KptLt Paul Wagenführ
U-43: KptLt Helmuth Jürst

### Airships

[edit]

Typical German Zeppelin

During the battle the Germans used the Zeppelin airships of the Naval Airship Section (Marine Luftschiff Abteilung) for scouting, although in the prevailing overcast conditions they were not particularly successful. The commander of the Naval Airship Section was Korvettenkapitän Peter Strasser, and they flew from bases at Nordholz and Hage in north-west Germany and Tondern (then part of Schleswig; the town became part of Denmark in 1920).

Sortied on 31 May

L.9: KptzS August Stelling (Army Officer, on the inactive list)
L.14: KptLt Alois Böcker
L.16: KptLt Erich Sommerfeldt
L.21: KptLt Max Dietrich
L.23: KptLt Otto von Schubert

Sortied on 1 June

L.11: KptLt Victor Schultze
L.17: KptLt Herbert Ehrlich
L.22: KptLt Martin Dietrich
L.24: KptLt Robert Koch

Did not sortie during the Battle of Jutland

L.13: KptLt Eduard Prölß
L.30: OLtzS Horst Treusch von Buttlar-Brandenfels

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ In the First World War, German officers ranks were slightly higher in status: both Kapitän zur See and Fregattenkapitän were considered equivalent to a Captain in the Royal Navy; Korvettenkapitän was equivalent to a RN Commander; and Kapitänleutnant and Oberleutnant zur See to an RN Lieutenant (there was no German equivalent of a RN Lieutenant-Commander).[3] To avoid ambiguities (e.g. "Capt" could mean Kapitän zur See or Fregattenkapitän), the NATO system is employed.
2. ^ 2nd Battle Squadron, 1st Cruiser Squadron and most of the 11th Destroyer Flotilla were at Invergordon, the remainder at Scapa Flow.
3. ^ Based at Cromarty Firth.
4. ^ Did not sail: HMS Emperor of India: Capt Charles Royds, the usual flagship of RADM A. L. Duff, which was in dock.
5. ^ Did not sail: HMS Royal Sovereign: Capt. A. T. Hunt, which was still working up.
6. ^ Based at Cromarty Firth
7. ^ The 2nd Cruiser Squadron had just absorbed Minotaur, Hampshire and Donegal from the disbanded 7th Cruiser Squadron on 30 May 1916. Did not sail: HMS Achilles: Capt. F. M. Leake, which was in dock, and HMS Donegal: Capt. W. H. D'Oyly, which was on detached service
8. ^ There is confusion about the exact name of this officer: the Navy List throughout the period 1914–1923, and the London Gazette in 1916 (announcing his CB) give his name as listed here. However in both earlier and later editions of the Navy List, in his service record, as well as in some (but not all) earlier editions of the London Gazette list him as Arthur Cloudesly Shovel Hughes D'Aeth; the probate records for England and Wales (reporting his death on 23 August 1956) list him as Arthur Cloudesley Shovell Hughes D'Aeth; his obituary in The Times (Saturday, 25 Augusut 1956, pg. 11; Issue 53619) gives his name as Arthur Cloudesley Shovel Hughes-D'Aeth. There was similar confusion about the spelling of the name of his namesake, the 18th century admiral; in his case 'Cloudesley Shovell' seems to be the accepted spelling nowadays[citation needed]
9. ^ These did not form part of the line of battle; Abdiel was attached for tactical minelaying and Oak as a tender to the flagship. In addition the seaplane carrier HMS Campania: Capt Oliver Schwann sailed from Scapa Flow at 0130 hrs, 31 May, but was too slow to catch the fleet and was ordered to return at 0430 hrs 31 May; and the kite balloon tender HMS Menelaus: Cdr C. W. N. McCulloch, did not sail[citation needed]
10. ^ Did not sail: Cockatrice (refit), Paragon (refit) and HMS Victor.
11. ^ Four destroyers detached from the 4th and 12th Destroyer Flotillas as escorts for the 2nd Cruiser Squadron.[7]
12. ^ Based at Cromarty Firth except for HMS Marne, HMS Manners, HMS Michael and HMS Mons at Scapa Flow. Did not sail: Musketeer (refit) and Marmion (refit).
13. ^ Did not sail: Mameluke (refit, Glasgow) and Napier (refit, Glasgow); also HMS Mischief assigned to Group 8/4th D.F.
14. ^ Attached from 5th Light Cruiser Squadron of the Harwich Force.
15. ^ Attached from 3rd Light Cruiser Squadron.
16. ^ I-class destroyers (except Ophelia) attached from 4th Destroyer Flotilla.
17. ^ Also known at different times during the war as Cruiser Force A, and the Battle Cruiser Force. At the time of Jutland, British battle cruisers were organized in three squadrons of three ships each, plus a fleet flagship. One of these Squadrons, the 3rd, was temporarily detached to the main body of the Grand Fleet. In addition there were three light cruiser squadrons and the 13th Destroyer Flotilla assigned (augmented at Jutland by additional attached destroyers). The Battle Cruiser Fleet was based at Rosyth on the Firth of Forth, Scotland.
18. ^ Did not sail: HMAS Australia: Capt S. H. Radcliffe, usual flagship of RADM Pakenham, which was in dock at Devonport.
19. ^ Did not sail: HMS Negro, HMS Nepean, HMS Nereus, HMS Paladin, Penn and HMS Pigeon.
20. ^ Attached from 10th D.F., Harwich Force
21. ^ The 9th Destroyer Flotilla was part of the Harwich Force; this group of six destroyers were attached to the Battle Cruiser Fleet at the time of Jutland, and sailed under this designation with the organization given below.[11]
22. ^ HMS Queen Elizabeth: Capt. G. P. W. Hope was being overhauled at Rosyth and did not sail
23. ^ Attached from the Grand Fleet, in company with 5th Battle Squadron. Did not sail: HMS Botha (flotilla leader), HMS Archer, HMS Jackal, Phoenix and HMS Tigress (all refitting); HMS Beaver, HMS Druid, HMS Ferret, HMS Hind, HMS Hornet and Sandfly (all detached to the Nore, as escort to the 3rd Battle Squadron, which was guarding the Thames Estuary against a battlecruiser raid).
24. ^ Did not sail: SMS König Albert: KptzS Thorbecke (condenser breakdown), SMS Bayern: KptzS Max Hahn (new construction, working up at Kiel), tender SMS T.39.
25. ^ Did not sail: attached Fleet tenders SMS D4, SMS T96, SMS T98 and SMS T16.
26. ^ Did not sail: attached tenders SMS Blitz and SMS T20
27. ^ Did not sail: SMS Preussen: KptzS Frey, detached to Baltic as guard-ship at The Sound, and tenders SMS Pfeil and SMS T49.
28. ^ Did not sail: SMS Berlin: FKpt Hildebrand, at Wilhelmshaven; and SMS Brummer: KptzS Wilhelm Schulz, at Kiel.
29. ^ Flagship of the Leader of U-Boats: ‘‘KptzS’’ Hermann Bauer, attached to the 4th Scouting Group for tactical purposes.
30. ^ German torpedo boat flotillas typically comprised two half-flotillas of five vessels each, plus an additional vessel for the flotilla commander. The boats were given numbers sequentially based on the order in which they were built. In addition, each boat had an initial letter denoting its builder: V for the Vulcan works at Stettin, S for the Schichau Works at Elbing in East Prussia, B for the Blohm und Voss Works at Hamburg, and G for Krupp's Germania Works at Kiel. All but one of the boats that fought at Jutland belonged to the number series than began with SMS V1 in 1911 (only SMS V189 belonged to the earlier series). Boats numbered 1-24 were of the 1911 Type[16] and served in the 5th and 7th Flotillas; boats numbered in the range 25-95 were of the 1913 Type[17] and served in the 1st, 3rd, 6th and 9th Flotillas. The vessels in the 2nd Flotilla were of a special large type built in 1914-15 and designated Torpedobootzerstörer ("torpedo boat destroyers") .[18]
31. ^ Attached to the 4th Scouting Group for tactical purposes.
32. ^ Did not sail: 2nd Half-Flotilla (2. halbsflottille), consisting of SMS G192: OLtzS Mewis, SMS G195: KptLt Mickel, SMS G196: KptLt Frhr von Seld, SMS G193: KptLt Oswald Paul and SMS S165: OLtzS Johannes-Henning Schneider, all under the command of FKpt Hans Kolbe.
33. ^ Did not sail: SMS V190: Lt(Reserve) Bon-Ed, and SMS G197: KptLt Crelinger.
34. ^ Did not sail: SMS V74: KptLt Günther Ehrlich, and SMS G85: KptLt Hans Herbert Stobwasser.
35. ^ Did not sail: SMS V70: KptLt Lemelsen, SMS S55: KptLt Holscher.
36. ^ Groos, Jutland Dispatches, Anlage 6./7. states KptLt Otto Karlowa in SMS S54 was the leader of the 6th Half-Flotilla on 30 May 1916; however from the narrative (Groos, Jutland Dispatches, p.304) it is clear that Riedel in V48 led the half-flotilla during the battle until the vessel was sunk in action and he was killed; the Second World War destroyer Z6 was named in Riedel's honor.[19]
37. ^ Did not sail: SMS G172, refitting; sailed, but returned to port prior to action: SMS V186: KptLt Wedigo von Keyserling.
38. ^ Sentenced to life imprisonment for war crimes at the Nuremberg Trials in 1946
39. ^ Did not sail: SMS Graudenz: KptLt Beucer, under repair at Wilhelmshaven, and SMS Stralsund: ‘‘KptzS’’ Weniger, in dock at Kiel.
40. ^ Attached to the 2nd Scouting Group for tactical purposes.
41. ^ Did not sail: SMS S49: KptLt Bauftaedt and SMS V43: KptLt Carl.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Hough, pp. 148–149.
2. ^ "Edinburgh's War, University of Edinburgh" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 September 2014. Retrieved 27 August 2014.
3. ^ Jane's Fighting Ships 1914. p. 155.
4. ^ a b Hough, p. 150.
5. ^ The Admiralty. Jutland Despatches. pp. 33–47.
6. ^ Corbett, Naval Operations Vol. III Appendix A Archived 6 August 2013 at the Wayback Machine
7. ^ The Admiralty. Jutland Dispatches. p. 402.
8. ^ The Admiralty. Jutland Dispatches. pp. 338–340.
9. ^ The Admiralty. Jutland Dispatches. pp. 344–352.
10. ^ The Admiralty. Jutland Dispatches. pp. 229–230.
11. ^ The Admiralty. Jutland Dispatches. p. 405.
12. ^ The Admiralty. Jutland Dispatches. pp. 242–252.
13. ^ The Admiralty. Jutland Dispatches. p. 400.
14. ^ Groos, Nordsee vol.5. Anlage 6., pp 466-470 and Anlage 7., pp.471-472 (in German).
15. ^ Frost, Jutland, Appendix 1, pp. 533-538.
16. ^ Emmerich, "Type 1911 Torpedo boats", German Naval History, archived from the original on 8 June 2013, retrieved 2 May 2013
17. ^ Emmerich, Jutland Dispatches, Type 1913 Torpedo boats Archived 8 June 2013 at the Wayback Machine (accessed 2 May 2013).
18. ^ Emmerich, Jutland Dispatches, Torpedobootzerstörer Archived 8 June 2013 at the Wayback Machine (accessed 2 May 2013).
19. ^ Emmerich, Michael (7 June 2004), Z6 Theodor Riedel, archived from the original on 17 May 2014, retrieved 2 May 2013

## Sources

[edit]

### Print

[edit]

* The Admiralty (1920). Battle of Jutland, 30th May to 1st June 1916: Official Despatches with Appendices. London: H.M. Stationery Office.
* Corbett, Sir Julian (1923). Naval Operations, Volume III. History of the Great War. London: Longmans, Green and Company.
* Le Fleming, H.M. (1961). Warships of World War I. London: Ian Allan.
* Frost, Commander Holloway H. (1936). The Battle of Jutland. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press.
* Groos, Korvettenkapitän Otto (1925). Der Krieg zur See, 1914-18. Vol. 5: Der Krieg in der Nordsee. Berlin: Verlag von E. S. Mittler & Sohn.
* Hough, Richard (1964). Dreadnought: A History of the Modern Battleship. New York: MacMillan.
* Jane, Fred T. (1914). All the World's Fighting Ships. London: Sampson Low Marston.

### Web

[edit]

* Emmerich, Michael. "German Naval History". Retrieved 24 November 2022.

## External links

[edit]

* "British Battles: Battle of Jutland". Retrieved 24 November 2022.
* "Battle of Jutland Crew Lists Project". Retrieved 24 November 2022.
* "NAVAL OPERATIONS, Volume 3, Spring 1915 to June 1916". Retrieved 24 November 2022.