Warspite at Jutland
Posted on Wednesday 3rd February 2016

Like a curtain being torn aside, suddenly there it was – the whole High Sea Fleet. Squadron commander, Rear Admiral Hugh Evan-Thomas, instantly ordered an about turn. At 4.58p.m. the 5th Battle Squadron swung away from certain destruction but instead of turning one by one where they were, they followed each other around, enabling the Germans to range on the turning point. As the Warspite curved around on her reverse course, all her turrets swung to train on targets on the other beam. Now the full impact of danger facing the British battleships hit home. Commander Walwyn was in awe of the terrible majesty of war:


However, Warspite had been hit under the waterline – the shell impact Captain Poland had seen from Y turret. This would later send her on a suicide run straight at the German battle fleet.






CAPTAIN PHILLPOTTS
Warspite's Commanding Officer, photographed aboard the battleship in 1915


Further Reading
Warspite
(Paperback - 224 pages)
ISBN: 9781848843509
by Iain Ballantyne
Only £16.99
No warship name in British naval history has more battle honours than Warspite. While this book looks at the lives of all eight vessels to bear the name (between 1596 and the 1990s), it concentrates on the truly epic story of the seventh vessel, a super-dreadnought battleship, conceived as the ultimate answer to German naval power, during the arms race that helped cause WW1. Warspite fought off the entire German fleet at Jutland, survived a mutiny between the wars and then covered herself in glory in action from the Arctic…
Read more at Pen & Sword Books...
Of further interest...

The German Fleet at Scapa Flow – 1919
Fri 19th JuneOn Midsummer's Day, 1919, a German Admiral took the decision to scuttle his fleet before the Allies could share the warships between themselves. Read article...


The Most Victoria Crosses in a Single Day
Tue 31st MayThe Victoria Crosses that saved an Empire: The story of the VCs of the Indian Mutiny. Article written for Warfare Magazine by Martin Mace. Read article...

The First Ship To Open Fire on D-Day
Mon 9th JuneIain Ballantyne describes HMS Warspite's role during the Normandy Landings, reputedly the first major vessel to open fire and hammer Hitler's so-called Atlantic Wall. Read article...