Battle of Heligoland Bight

28 August 1914, Heligoland Bight, south-eastern North Sea

British victory

Commodore Tyrwhitt's Harwich Force raided the German destroyer patrols off Heligoland on a misty morning. German light cruisers came out piecemeal and the fight became confused, until Beatty brought his battlecruisers into the Bight and sank Cöln and Ariadne. Three German light cruisers and a torpedo boat were lost; no British ship was. The Kaiser ordered his fleet to avoid risks.

Royal Navy

21+ ships, none lost

Ship	Type	Outcome
HMS Lion Beatty's flagship	Battlecruiser Lion class	Survived
HMS Queen Mary	Battlecruiser	Survived
HMS Princess Royal	Battlecruiser Lion class	Survived
HMS Invincible	Battlecruiser Invincible class	Survived
HMS New Zealand	Battlecruiser Indefatigable class	Survived
HMS Arethusa Tyrwhitt's flagship	Light cruiser	Damaged
HMS Fearless	Light cruiser	Survived
HMS Southampton Goodenough's flagship	Light cruiser Town class	Survived
HMS Birmingham	Light cruiser Town class	Survived
HMS Falmouth	Light cruiser Town class	Survived
HMS Liverpool	Light cruiser Town class	Survived
HMS Lowestoft	Light cruiser Town class	Survived
HMS Nottingham	Light cruiser Town class	Survived
HMS E4	Submarine E class	Survived
HMS E5	Submarine E class	Survived
HMS E6	Submarine E class	Survived
HMS E7	Submarine E class	Survived
HMS E8	Submarine E class	Survived
HMS E9	Submarine	Survived
HMS D2	Submarine D class	Survived
HMS D8	Submarine D class	Survived

Flotillas and other craft	Number	Lost
Destroyers, 1st and 3rd Flotillas 16 new Laforey-class boats and about 16 older ones; three were damaged.	31–33	0

Flotillas and other craft

Number

Lost

Destroyers, 1st and 3rd Flotillas

16 new Laforey-class boats and about 16 older ones; three were damaged.

31–33

Imperial German Navy

8+ ships, 4 lost

Ship	Type	Outcome
SMS Mainz	Light cruiser	Sunk
SMS Cöln Rear Admiral Maass killed	Light cruiser	Sunk
SMS Ariadne	Light cruiser	Sunk
SMS Frauenlob	Light cruiser	Damaged
SMS Strassburg	Light cruiser	Damaged
SMS Stettin	Light cruiser	Damaged
SMS Stralsund Rescued Ariadne's survivors	Light cruiser	Survived
SMS Danzig Rescued Ariadne's survivors	Light cruiser	Survived

Flotillas and other craft	Number	Lost
Torpedo boats V187 was sunk; three more were damaged.	several	1

Flotillas and other craft

Number

Lost

Torpedo boats

V187 was sunk; three more were damaged.

several

Map

Harwich Force raids the Bight 27–28 August 1914