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Anniversary of the Battle of Jutland from May 31 to June 1 1916
My Great Uncle, Petty Officer Richard Jose was on the HMS Defence went it was hit by
German naval shellfire and sunk without any survivors during the battle.Attachment 117913Attachment 117914
Photos show him around 1909 training on the HMS Hogue (sunk in Sept 1914)
also photo of HMS Defence
Yes the famous saying "There is something wrong with our bloody ships today" perhaps the greatest naval battle in history and one with appalling losses on both sides though the Brit's in this instance suffered allot more than the German fleet.
Apparently according to a doco I saw some years ago where they dove on the wrecks at Jutland the reason the ships blew up was poor ammo and cordite storage.
As anticipating a large scale engagement the Brits had stacked extra ammo and cordite below decks in just about every available space with leaving the fire doors open thus expediting the conflagration and resultant explosion.
RIP to your great uncle RCS.
Obviously they did not learn the lesson; because HMS Hood went the same way in WWII.
I saw an interesting documentary on the sinking of HMS Hood in which they were diving to the wreck.
RIP to all who served and gave all.
More than the HMS Hood I think. I remember my grandfather telling me about an incident he witnessed in WWII. I am not sure of the size but he said the vessel was blown apart in one go. They picked up one very broken survivor who had apparently been in the engine room when the explosion occurred.Quote:
Originally Posted by 30Three
The Hood might not be a good example, as it was a battle cruiser with all its weaknesses.
Hood never got the refurbishment and up grade to her deck armour hence as Daan stated she was only a Battle cruiser not a Battleship even though her guns may have been adequate to take on the Bismarck her protection from plunging fire was woefully inadequate.
As far as the Prince Of Wales went what a job her crew did the ship had civilian workers on board still sorting out the guns and other stuff that needed doing so new was she.
I cannot vouch for it but I am not sure she was even on the books or fully accepted into service either way she did a stirling job despite the limitations in scoring a hit on the Bismarck.
Sadly her and Repulse were destined for a sad end when you send ships out without a carrier they are no match for sustained aerial attack even the Yamato & Mushashi bore that legacy out at the hands of the US naval flyers.
One controversy that was cleared up was Kerr's turn to Port so he could bring his aft guns to bear having given the Germans a narrow target for as long as possible but sacrificing firepower when they found the stern section of the Hood.
The rudders were jammed to port indicating Kerr was going broadside on to get the maximum shells onto the target.
I found this interesting documentary on the battle of Jutland. They have found and identified all the lost ships.
History Documentary | WW1 - Jutland Greatest Sea Battle - YouTube
Thanks for the doco 30three;
They were scathing of Jellicoe going so far as to say "The only person who could have lost the British fleet (War) in a day" in all reality no body won but I am pleased that now his name is cleared nothing wrong with being prudent had he not turned away from those torpedos things may have been different.
The Germans launched 42 torpedos at the Jellicoe's ships in their death ride whence he turned away from them making the closing speed some 5 mph instead of staying the course and the closing speed between his ships and the torpedos being 40 mph.
The ships easily combed the torpedo's coming from the rear some very close shaves though none hit thankfully, far more difficult and harder if not impossible to comb them when coming from bow on.
A friend of mines grandfather served at Jutland, he related how on occasions the combatants got so close they took shots at each other with Rifles!
I don't know what ship he was on, but he ended up in the sea, along with many others.
Having survived this bloodbath and the rest of the great war, he left the RN in 1937 .... Only to promptly re-enlist in September 1939! He ended up in the drink again after his destroyer was sunk during Atlantic convoy duties. After this second close dice with death, he was (mercifully) retired from Sea duties and spent the rest of the war passing on his considerable Combat experience in various training establishments....
A legendary generation, brave beyond measure....
Just read "Our Bloody Ships or Our Bloody System" if you want to know what happened.
It was all hushed up by Jellicoe and Beatty among others. The 3rd Lord of the Admiralty who wrote the damning report (a Rear Admiral) was sent to command the China Squadron after Jellicoe become 1st Lord and Beatty commander of the Grand Fleet, and nothing more was heard of his report!
The demise of the Hood may well have been due to the same ammunition handling practices as a result.