Stavanger 2 - Twists and Turns
Stavanger 2 - Twists and Turns
Supported by the heavy guns of HMS Indefatigable, the light cruisers Nottingham and Birmingham wrecked the Pillau and a German destroyer and were able to press home their reconnaissance. Shortly after 3.30, it became certain that German battlecruisers were ahead, heading broadly North, while the British were steaming broadly East. Keen not to miss out on another chance to intercept, Beatty ordered his fleet to turn North-northeast, to cut-off and close the Germans as fast as possible. The two main groups were still far out of range and had yet to even spot each other, but they were now on converging courses.
Beatty's abrupt turn and high speed left some of his screen behind to starboard, while the slower ships of 5BS could not hope to keep pace. Worse, they had not accelerated to top speed when 1BCS did, due to a signalling error. The last ship in the line (normally Princess Royal) was supposed to repeat Beatty’s orders by signal lamp to the battleships, as flags were often obscured. Today however, Repulse was last in the line. She had joined the fleet at the last minute, and her command crew didn’t know to relay the signals. Aboard HMS Barham, Admiral Evan-Thomas knew that Beatty planned to close at high speed in the opening phase of an action, and that he was to stay as close to the battlecruisers as possible, but by the time he realised that Beatty’s ships were accelerating away, they were at close to 27 knots, while he was still at 20. By the time his ships worked up to full speed, he was five miles astern of the battlecruisers, and they were still faster than him.
Aboard SMS Lutzow, Admiral Hipper could see the smoke plume of the Indefatigable to the West, and the burning wreckage of the Pillau. The British were still far off, and he was in no hurry to waste ammunition on agile cruisers at the limit of his guns’ range. He was puzzled at the appearance of a lone battlecruiser, but his scouts on the port beam reported smoke to the Southwest; undoubtedly the rest of the British force. Steaming at 22 knots, he knew he risked being caught if he kept heading towards Norway. Nevertheless, his objective was to lure the British as far as possible, and at 3.34, he ordered his ships to increase to 24 knots and turn two points to starboard, steering almost exactly due North and further away from the British, hoping to extend the chase and draw them further to the Northeast.
For the next half-hour, very little changed as Hipper headed North and Beatty chased him. The ships of 1BCS worked up to 27½ knots, the maximum speed at which they could realistically keep together in line. In the fleet, nervous and expectant sailors felt the vibrations of engines being forced to their limits, while stockers and engineers monitored their fireboxes and gauges, as they set about extracting every last horsepower from their engines. The only exception was the Repulse, whose oil-fired boilers required far less attention, and with revolutions for only 28 knots, her massive engines weren’t even being forced.
Men whispered to each other, and those who had communication with anyone who could see out of their ship asked if the Hun was finally in sight. They were, but even so, there was disbelief that battle was about to commence. Perhaps the enemy would turn away again, and after two long years of skirmishes and manoeuvres, the opening moves seemed more like a battle exercise.
Ahead, but slowly being caught by the rest of the line, HMS Indefatigable maintained contact with the German Scouting Group, with each side trying a few ranging shots. At about 19,000 yards, it was very long range for both sides’ guns, and Indefatigable's Captain maintained an uneven course to throw off any German attempts to find the range. His mission was to keep them under observation and beat back any of their scouts, not charge in to attack single-handed.
At 4.01, at a range of about 24,000 yards, HMS Lion opened fire. There was little hope of hitting, these were merely range-finding shots, and they were observed as ‘short’, despite the guns being elevated to maximum. Nevertheless, it would only be a few more minutes before 1BCS was in range.
There had been great changes since the Chase at the Dogger Bank, just over 18 month earlier. All the British 13.5" battlecruisers had new sights, allowing their turret layers to keep the enemy in view at any elevation. Below decks, their fire-control tables and transmitting units had been adapted to cope with ranges up to 25,000 yards. Each ship now had an additional hydraulic pump, allowing them to run out and load the guns without the ‘stalling’ that had occurred previously at high elevations, meaning the gunlayers could focus on keeping the guns on the enemy. In addition, HMS Queen Mary, Panther and the brand-new Repulse had 15' rangefinders at their foretops and above their armoured directors, allowing them to read long ranges with greater accuracy than the 9' units on other ships. Attempts had also been made to improve spotting; there were now dedicated observers equipped with timers and sights to help ensure they spotted their own salvos and not someone else’s. To help the spotters, and to allow range to be re-acquired more quickly than at Dogger Bank, salvo ‘brackets’ were now more formalised, and the distance between initial corrections (up or down) had been set at 400 yards. Nevertheless, most of these rules and this equipment were still newm. None of it had been tested in battle, and the battlecruisers had little chance to practice at their otherwise comfortable home at Rosyth.
Admiral Hipper had one more trick up his sleeve to prolong the chase and help complete his real mission. At 4.04, with splashes from British shells erupting just a few hundred yards off his port quarter, he ordered a 14-point turn to starboard, away from the enemy and to put 1SG onto a course back towards home. To avoid losing too much speed, the turn was a slow one, while a longer period stern-on to the enemy also served to keep the range open.
Hipper's turn was noticed immediately by the British, and once they were sure he had committed to a course for home, rather than just feinting, or turning East for the Skaggerak, Beatty ordered his ships to follow suit, with a 12-point turn to starboard. By 4.15, both fleets were heading in a southerly direction, with the lead ships about 22,500 yards from each other. On slightly converging courses, the British recommenced fire as their plots stabilised, while the Germans still had to wait for a few minutes to be sure their guns were in range. The Lutzow had been built to be capable of firing out to 22,300 yards, and her sister Derfflinger’s turrets had been modified to shoot that far too. The older ships with 11" guns had previously had a slight advantage, as their mounts could elevate to 20 degrees, which allowed their guns to fire to 20,500 yds.
By 4.30, all six German ships were engaged.
On the British side, the weaving courses had thrown the scouting forces into disarray, and the position of Indefatigable had been abruptly reversed. Nominally, she was under orders to join up with the main force once the fleets engaged. Originally ahead and slightly to port of the main fleet, Indefatigable had kept an eye on the Germans as they headed North, with Beatty slowly gaining on her. The sudden reversal of course left her in the rear, steaming a mile or so behind 1BCS, struggling and failing to match their speed.
Shortly after it was confirmed that the Germans were heading broadly south, Beatty realised it could mean only one thing – that Admiralty intelligence was right, and the High Seas Fleet was out in force. If the German battlecruisers had simply wanted to run away, as they did at Dogger Bank, they would have headed East through the Skagerrak; a risky place for any British squadron to follow. The fact that they were heading South suggested that they were trying to lure the British onto the guns of the entire German fleet.
At 4.32, Beatty ordered 1LCS to take station ahead and to starboard of his battlecruisers, with the scout cruisers Cordelia, Galatea, Phaeton and Inconstant to make best possible speed to provide warning of the HSF's approach. By 5.00, the squadron was 5 miles to starboard of the line, but barely a mile ahead as Beatty’s ships continued to thunder along at maximum speed.
In those few minutes after 4.30, the realisation that the German fleet was out and probably nearby meant that Beatty’s force had a very limited time to try to hit the German battlecruisers hard, before he might be forced to withdraw. Until now, he had used top speed to gain on the Germans, to try to work around them and cut them off, while steadily closing the range. However, with the High Seas Fleet perhaps only minutes ahead, there was no time for that, and the turn south had put the fleets more-or-less abeam of each other.
It was time to engage the enemy more closely.
Supported by the heavy guns of HMS Indefatigable, the light cruisers Nottingham and Birmingham wrecked the Pillau and a German destroyer and were able to press home their reconnaissance. Shortly after 3.30, it became certain that German battlecruisers were ahead, heading broadly North, while the British were steaming broadly East. Keen not to miss out on another chance to intercept, Beatty ordered his fleet to turn North-northeast, to cut-off and close the Germans as fast as possible. The two main groups were still far out of range and had yet to even spot each other, but they were now on converging courses.
Beatty's abrupt turn and high speed left some of his screen behind to starboard, while the slower ships of 5BS could not hope to keep pace. Worse, they had not accelerated to top speed when 1BCS did, due to a signalling error. The last ship in the line (normally Princess Royal) was supposed to repeat Beatty’s orders by signal lamp to the battleships, as flags were often obscured. Today however, Repulse was last in the line. She had joined the fleet at the last minute, and her command crew didn’t know to relay the signals. Aboard HMS Barham, Admiral Evan-Thomas knew that Beatty planned to close at high speed in the opening phase of an action, and that he was to stay as close to the battlecruisers as possible, but by the time he realised that Beatty’s ships were accelerating away, they were at close to 27 knots, while he was still at 20. By the time his ships worked up to full speed, he was five miles astern of the battlecruisers, and they were still faster than him.
Aboard SMS Lutzow, Admiral Hipper could see the smoke plume of the Indefatigable to the West, and the burning wreckage of the Pillau. The British were still far off, and he was in no hurry to waste ammunition on agile cruisers at the limit of his guns’ range. He was puzzled at the appearance of a lone battlecruiser, but his scouts on the port beam reported smoke to the Southwest; undoubtedly the rest of the British force. Steaming at 22 knots, he knew he risked being caught if he kept heading towards Norway. Nevertheless, his objective was to lure the British as far as possible, and at 3.34, he ordered his ships to increase to 24 knots and turn two points to starboard, steering almost exactly due North and further away from the British, hoping to extend the chase and draw them further to the Northeast.
For the next half-hour, very little changed as Hipper headed North and Beatty chased him. The ships of 1BCS worked up to 27½ knots, the maximum speed at which they could realistically keep together in line. In the fleet, nervous and expectant sailors felt the vibrations of engines being forced to their limits, while stockers and engineers monitored their fireboxes and gauges, as they set about extracting every last horsepower from their engines. The only exception was the Repulse, whose oil-fired boilers required far less attention, and with revolutions for only 28 knots, her massive engines weren’t even being forced.
Men whispered to each other, and those who had communication with anyone who could see out of their ship asked if the Hun was finally in sight. They were, but even so, there was disbelief that battle was about to commence. Perhaps the enemy would turn away again, and after two long years of skirmishes and manoeuvres, the opening moves seemed more like a battle exercise.
Ahead, but slowly being caught by the rest of the line, HMS Indefatigable maintained contact with the German Scouting Group, with each side trying a few ranging shots. At about 19,000 yards, it was very long range for both sides’ guns, and Indefatigable's Captain maintained an uneven course to throw off any German attempts to find the range. His mission was to keep them under observation and beat back any of their scouts, not charge in to attack single-handed.
At 4.01, at a range of about 24,000 yards, HMS Lion opened fire. There was little hope of hitting, these were merely range-finding shots, and they were observed as ‘short’, despite the guns being elevated to maximum. Nevertheless, it would only be a few more minutes before 1BCS was in range.
There had been great changes since the Chase at the Dogger Bank, just over 18 month earlier. All the British 13.5" battlecruisers had new sights, allowing their turret layers to keep the enemy in view at any elevation. Below decks, their fire-control tables and transmitting units had been adapted to cope with ranges up to 25,000 yards. Each ship now had an additional hydraulic pump, allowing them to run out and load the guns without the ‘stalling’ that had occurred previously at high elevations, meaning the gunlayers could focus on keeping the guns on the enemy. In addition, HMS Queen Mary, Panther and the brand-new Repulse had 15' rangefinders at their foretops and above their armoured directors, allowing them to read long ranges with greater accuracy than the 9' units on other ships. Attempts had also been made to improve spotting; there were now dedicated observers equipped with timers and sights to help ensure they spotted their own salvos and not someone else’s. To help the spotters, and to allow range to be re-acquired more quickly than at Dogger Bank, salvo ‘brackets’ were now more formalised, and the distance between initial corrections (up or down) had been set at 400 yards. Nevertheless, most of these rules and this equipment were still newm. None of it had been tested in battle, and the battlecruisers had little chance to practice at their otherwise comfortable home at Rosyth.
Admiral Hipper had one more trick up his sleeve to prolong the chase and help complete his real mission. At 4.04, with splashes from British shells erupting just a few hundred yards off his port quarter, he ordered a 14-point turn to starboard, away from the enemy and to put 1SG onto a course back towards home. To avoid losing too much speed, the turn was a slow one, while a longer period stern-on to the enemy also served to keep the range open.
Hipper's turn was noticed immediately by the British, and once they were sure he had committed to a course for home, rather than just feinting, or turning East for the Skaggerak, Beatty ordered his ships to follow suit, with a 12-point turn to starboard. By 4.15, both fleets were heading in a southerly direction, with the lead ships about 22,500 yards from each other. On slightly converging courses, the British recommenced fire as their plots stabilised, while the Germans still had to wait for a few minutes to be sure their guns were in range. The Lutzow had been built to be capable of firing out to 22,300 yards, and her sister Derfflinger’s turrets had been modified to shoot that far too. The older ships with 11" guns had previously had a slight advantage, as their mounts could elevate to 20 degrees, which allowed their guns to fire to 20,500 yds.
By 4.30, all six German ships were engaged.
On the British side, the weaving courses had thrown the scouting forces into disarray, and the position of Indefatigable had been abruptly reversed. Nominally, she was under orders to join up with the main force once the fleets engaged. Originally ahead and slightly to port of the main fleet, Indefatigable had kept an eye on the Germans as they headed North, with Beatty slowly gaining on her. The sudden reversal of course left her in the rear, steaming a mile or so behind 1BCS, struggling and failing to match their speed.
Shortly after it was confirmed that the Germans were heading broadly south, Beatty realised it could mean only one thing – that Admiralty intelligence was right, and the High Seas Fleet was out in force. If the German battlecruisers had simply wanted to run away, as they did at Dogger Bank, they would have headed East through the Skagerrak; a risky place for any British squadron to follow. The fact that they were heading South suggested that they were trying to lure the British onto the guns of the entire German fleet.
At 4.32, Beatty ordered 1LCS to take station ahead and to starboard of his battlecruisers, with the scout cruisers Cordelia, Galatea, Phaeton and Inconstant to make best possible speed to provide warning of the HSF's approach. By 5.00, the squadron was 5 miles to starboard of the line, but barely a mile ahead as Beatty’s ships continued to thunder along at maximum speed.
In those few minutes after 4.30, the realisation that the German fleet was out and probably nearby meant that Beatty’s force had a very limited time to try to hit the German battlecruisers hard, before he might be forced to withdraw. Until now, he had used top speed to gain on the Germans, to try to work around them and cut them off, while steadily closing the range. However, with the High Seas Fleet perhaps only minutes ahead, there was no time for that, and the turn south had put the fleets more-or-less abeam of each other.
It was time to engage the enemy more closely.
