Battle of Jutland
31 May – 1 June 1916, North Sea, off the coast of Jutland
Disputed: German tactical success, British strategic victory
The only full clash of battle fleets in the war. Scheer hoped to trap part of the Grand Fleet; Room 40's codebreakers sent the whole of it to sea. In the opening battlecruiser action Indefatigable and Queen Mary blew up. Beatty then drew Hipper and Scheer north onto Jellicoe's battleships, which twice crossed the German T. Scheer turned away under cover of torpedo attacks and slipped behind the British fleet in a confused night action. Britain lost more ships and twice as many men (about 6,100 to 2,550), but the High Seas Fleet never again seriously challenged British control of the North Sea.
Read more on WikipediaBattlecruisers and the 5th Battle Squadron in action at Jutland, 31 May 1916, about 17.00-1730 Signed (faintly) by the artist, lower right, this drawing shows Admiral David Beatty's battlecruisers, with 'Lion' (his flagship) leading 'Princess Royal', 'Tiger' and 'New Zealand' followed by the 5th Bat Image: William Lionel Wyllie, Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Royal Navy
151 ships, 14 lost
| Ship | Type | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| HMS Lion Beatty's flagship; Q turret hit | Battlecruiser | Damaged |
| HMS Princess Royal | Battlecruiser | Damaged |
| HMS Queen Mary Blew up | Battlecruiser | Sunk |
| HMS Tiger | Battlecruiser | Damaged |
| HMS New Zealand | Battlecruiser | Survived |
| HMS Indefatigable Blew up; first loss of the battle | Battlecruiser | Sunk |
| HMS Invincible Blew up; Rear Admiral Hood killed | Battlecruiser | Sunk |
| HMS Inflexible | Battlecruiser | Survived |
| HMS Indomitable | Battlecruiser | Survived |
| HMS Barham 5th Battle Squadron flagship | Battleship | Damaged |
| HMS Valiant | Battleship | Survived |
| HMS Warspite Steering jammed | Battleship | Damaged |
| HMS Malaya | Battleship | Damaged |
| HMS Iron Duke Jellicoe's flagship | Dreadnought battleship | Survived |
| HMS King George V | Dreadnought battleship | Survived |
| HMS Ajax | Dreadnought battleship | Survived |
| HMS Centurion | Dreadnought battleship | Survived |
| HMS Erin | Dreadnought battleship | Survived |
| HMS Orion | Dreadnought battleship | Survived |
| HMS Monarch | Dreadnought battleship | Survived |
| HMS Conqueror | Dreadnought battleship | Survived |
| HMS Thunderer | Dreadnought battleship | Survived |
| HMS Royal Oak | Battleship | Survived |
| HMS Superb | Dreadnought battleship | Survived |
| HMS Canada | Dreadnought battleship | Survived |
| HMS Benbow | Dreadnought battleship | Survived |
| HMS Bellerophon | Dreadnought battleship | Survived |
| HMS Temeraire | Dreadnought battleship | Survived |
| HMS Vanguard | Dreadnought battleship | Survived |
| HMS Marlborough Torpedoed | Dreadnought battleship | Damaged |
| HMS Revenge | Battleship | Survived |
| HMS Hercules | Dreadnought battleship | Survived |
| HMS Agincourt | Dreadnought battleship | Survived |
| HMS Colossus | Dreadnought battleship | Survived |
| HMS Collingwood | Dreadnought battleship | Survived |
| HMS Neptune | Dreadnought battleship | Survived |
| HMS St Vincent | Dreadnought battleship | Survived |
| HMS Defence Blew up with all hands | Armoured cruiser | Sunk |
| HMS Warrior Foundered next morning | Armoured cruiser | Sunk |
| HMS Black Prince Sunk at night with all hands | Armoured cruiser | Sunk |
| HMS Duke of Edinburgh | Armoured cruiser | Survived |
| HMS Minotaur | Armoured cruiser | Survived |
| HMS Hampshire | Armoured cruiser | Survived |
| HMS Shannon | Armoured cruiser | Survived |
| HMS Cochrane | Armoured cruiser | Survived |
| HMS Galatea Fired the first shots | Light cruiser | Survived |
| HMS Phaeton | Light cruiser | Survived |
| HMS Inconstant | Light cruiser | Survived |
| HMS Cordelia | Light cruiser | Survived |
| HMS Southampton First to sight the German battle fleet | Light cruiser | Damaged |
| HMS Birmingham | Light cruiser | Survived |
| HMS Nottingham | Light cruiser | Survived |
| HMS Dublin | Light cruiser | Damaged |
| HMS Falmouth | Light cruiser | Survived |
| HMS Yarmouth | Light cruiser | Survived |
| HMS Birkenhead | Light cruiser | Survived |
| HMS Gloucester | Light cruiser | Survived |
| HMS Chester Jack Cornwell, VC | Light cruiser | Damaged |
| HMS Canterbury | Light cruiser | Survived |
| HMS Calliope 4th Light Cruiser Squadron flagship | Light cruiser | Damaged |
| HMS Constance | Light cruiser | Survived |
| HMS Comus | Light cruiser | Survived |
| HMS Caroline | Light cruiser | Survived |
| HMS Royalist | Light cruiser | Survived |
| HMS Castor 11th Flotilla leader | Light cruiser | Damaged |
| HMS Champion 13th Flotilla leader | Light cruiser | Survived |
| HMS Fearless 1st Flotilla leader | Light cruiser | Survived |
| HMS Boadicea | Light cruiser | Survived |
| HMS Active | Light cruiser | Survived |
| HMS Blanche | Light cruiser | Survived |
| HMS Bellona | Light cruiser | Survived |
| Flotillas and other craft | Number | Lost |
|---|---|---|
Destroyers Including one destroyer-minelayer. Lost: Tipperary, Ardent, Fortune, Sparrowhawk, Turbulent, Shark, Nestor and Nomad. | 79 | 8 |
Seaplane carrier Engadine, whose seaplane made the first aerial reconnaissance in a fleet battle. | 1 | 0 |
Imperial German Navy
99 ships, 11 lost
| Ship | Type | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| SMS Lützow Hipper's flagship; abandoned and torpedoed | Battlecruiser | Scuttled |
| SMS Derfflinger | Battlecruiser | Damaged |
| SMS Seydlitz Barely got home | Battlecruiser | Damaged |
| SMS Moltke | Battlecruiser | Damaged |
| SMS Von der Tann Sank Indefatigable | Battlecruiser | Damaged |
| SMS Friedrich der Grosse Scheer's flagship | Dreadnought battleship | Survived |
| SMS König Led the line | Dreadnought battleship | Damaged |
| SMS Grosser Kurfürst | Dreadnought battleship | Damaged |
| SMS Markgraf | Dreadnought battleship | Damaged |
| SMS Kronprinz | Dreadnought battleship | Survived |
| SMS Kaiser | Dreadnought battleship | Survived |
| SMS Kaiserin | Dreadnought battleship | Survived |
| SMS Prinzregent Luitpold | Dreadnought battleship | Survived |
| SMS Ostfriesland Mined on the way home | Dreadnought battleship | Damaged |
| SMS Thüringen | Dreadnought battleship | Survived |
| SMS Helgoland | Dreadnought battleship | Survived |
| SMS Oldenburg | Dreadnought battleship | Survived |
| SMS Posen | Dreadnought battleship | Survived |
| SMS Rheinland | Dreadnought battleship | Survived |
| SMS Nassau | Dreadnought battleship | Survived |
| SMS Westfalen | Dreadnought battleship | Survived |
| SMS Deutschland | Pre-dreadnought battleship | Survived |
| SMS Pommern Torpedoed at night; no survivors | Pre-dreadnought battleship | Sunk |
| SMS Hannover | Pre-dreadnought battleship | Survived |
| SMS Schlesien | Pre-dreadnought battleship | Survived |
| SMS Schleswig-Holstein | Pre-dreadnought battleship | Survived |
| SMS Hessen | Pre-dreadnought battleship | Survived |
| SMS Frauenlob Torpedoed at night | Light cruiser | Sunk |
| SMS Pillau | Light cruiser | Survived |
| SMS Frankfurt | Light cruiser | Survived |
| SMS Wiesbaden Disabled early; one survivor | Light cruiser | Sunk |
| SMS Elbing Rammed by Posen at night | Light cruiser | Scuttled |
| SMS Rostock Torpedoed at night | Light cruiser | Scuttled |
| SMS Stettin 4th Scouting Group flagship | Light cruiser | Survived |
| SMS München | Light cruiser | Survived |
| SMS Hamburg | Light cruiser | Survived |
| SMS Stuttgart | Light cruiser | Survived |
| SMS Regensburg Torpedo-boat leader | Light cruiser | Survived |
| Flotillas and other craft | Number | Lost |
|---|---|---|
Torpedo boats V48, S35, V27, V29 and V4 were lost. | 61 | 5 |
Map
Grand Fleet sails from Scapa Flow 30–31 May 1916
Battlecruiser Fleet sails from Rosyth 30–31 May 1916
High Seas Fleet sails from the Jade 31 May – 1 June 1916