The largest naval battles in Russian history (12 photos). The largest naval battles in Russian history. Naval battles of World War II

I did not find photographs of later major battles in the European-Atlantic theater of operations. There are few photographs of artillery battles in the Pacific theater of operations. These pictures are presented American side- for obvious reasons. Accordingly, there are no or almost no photographs of the battles at the first stage of the war, when the Japanese held the initiative. The fact that the Japanese did not take pictures is doubtful (remembering the photographs from the times Russo-Japanese War!) Well, both himself and the naval battles of the second stage of the war

(until approximately November 1944) - were fleeting and often unexpected for both sides, sometimes occurring at night.

Such was the battle at Savo Island, one of the Eastern Solomon Islands. In August 1942, the Americans and their allies began landing on the islands, and the Japanese launched countermeasures. On the night of August 8-9, the Japanese formation entered the strait between the islands and attacked the landing cover formation, as a result sinking 4 heavy cruisers and damaging one more and two destroyers. The picture (very famous) shows the American heavy cruiser Quincy burning and sinking into the water, hit by torpedoes and artillery from Japanese cruisers:

And on this, no less famous, from the cruiser Chokai - the Allied cruisers Australia, Canberra, Chicago, illuminated by Japanese searchlights and flare bombs, from seaplanes. By the way, here is a photo of “Tyokai” firing - not in that battle, of course, but back in 1933, the picture just came in handy:

From November 12 to 15, 1942, two decisive naval (precisely classic) battles in this campaign took place near the island of Guadalcanal, after which the advantage in it finally leaned towards the Americans and their allies. Both battles took place at night (this was the tactics of the Japanese, who sought to avoid daytime activity due to the superiority of allied aviation). Pictures of the battle are practically unknown, except for one - the firing of the Washington battleship at the Kirishima in the second battle on the night of November 14-15, as a result of which the Japanese battleship was disabled, and subsequently abandoned by the crew and sank.

And finally, the last major (one might even say the largest) naval battle to date was and remains the Battle of Leyte Gulf. It itself consisted of several naval battles, including artillery battles. The photographs are American, although there were also those on the Japanese ships who took photographs. And although there are photographs of the Japanese of their ships before the battle, I have not yet seen photographs of the Japanese themselves in battle. It is unlikely that, given the position of the Japanese in this battle, they cared about filming.

On the night of October 25, a battle took place in the Surigao Strait, as a result of which Admiral Nishimura’s “Force C” was completely destroyed. The battle took place at night and was quite fleeting. Little can be discerned from the photographs except this:

True, this silhouette is more reminiscent of the Ise-class battleships that did not participate in this battle, and it’s difficult to say whether this is still a photo. Taken from the book by Anthony Tully.

And this is a confirmed photo. The battleship West Virginia fires at the Japanese formation:

Fire from American cruisers of Task Force 77.2:

On the morning of October 25, the main forces of the Japanese fleet entered the battle, led by its flagship, the world's largest battleship Yamato. But his target was simply the escort aircraft carriers White Plains and St. Lowe. American pilots, attacking the Yamato, took a photograph of the Japanese flagship firing:

The covering destroyers counterattacked the enemy, suffering heavy losses (in the picture - Johnston, Hoel, Heerman under fire:

Meanwhile, the Japanese cruisers, having bypassed the American aircraft carriers from the north, opened fire, sinking the Gambier Bay and damaging the others. A Japanese cruiser (marked with a circle) shoots Gambier Bay:

One more photo:

On the left - "Gambier Bay", on the right - "Kitkin Bay" under fire from Japanese cruisers:

Gambier Bay is very close:

The unfortunate Gambier Bay was eventually sunk, but the resistance of the destroyers and aircraft pilots from the aircraft carriers led to the withdrawal of the main Japanese forces. Of course, this was not the only reason for the withdrawal, but nevertheless this battle also showed that a battle between aircraft carriers and artillery ships without air cover was now futile for the latter.

The finale of the battle in Leyte Gulf was the battle at Cape Engaño, in which the last Japanese aircraft carriers in service were destroyed. Since the Americans had complete superiority in forces, especially in the air, the battle essentially turned into a hunt for the Japanese ships of Ozawa’s formation (not very successful, by the way). In the photo: fire from the cruiser Mobile on the destroyer Hatsuzuki:

This marked the end of the era of large naval artillery battles. Until the end of the war, and after, such battles still took place. And, perhaps, in the future everything can happen - after all, artillery is an indispensable feature of today’s ship - a boat, a corvette, a frigate, a destroyer, a cruiser... And its caliber is growing. The most promising ship under construction today, the American destroyer Zumvolt, is equipped with a 155-mm gun mount with guided projectiles. So naval artillery battles may still take place in the future. Although it would be better to never have them again. No artillery, no missiles. None.

Adventure, historical, documentaries, in which they show naval battles, always take your breath away. It doesn’t matter whether it’s frigates with snow-white sails near Haiti or huge aircraft carriers abeam Pearl Harbor.

The spirit of wandering haunts human imagination. Read on and you will briefly get acquainted with the most large-scale and grandiose naval battles in the new history of the world.

Navy in military history

Let's take a closer look at what happened in Chesme Bay from July 5 to July 7, 1770.

Two squadrons were sent to the Black Sea from the Baltic, which merged into one on the spot. Command of the new fleet was entrusted to Count Alexei, brother of Grigory Orlov, a favorite of Catherine II.

The squadron consisted of thirteen capital ships (nine battleships, one bombardier and three frigates), as well as nineteen small support ships. In total, they had about six and a half thousand crew members.

During the transition, part of the Turkish fleet was discovered standing in the roadstead. Among the ships there were quite large vessels. For example, the Burj u Zafer had eighty-four guns on board, while the Rhodes had sixty. In total, there were seventy-three ships (of which sixteen were battleships and six frigates) and more than fifteen thousand sailors.

With the help of the skillful actions of Russian sailors, the squadron managed to win. Among the trophies was the Turkish Rhodes. The Turks lost more than eleven thousand people killed, and the Russians lost about seven hundred sailors.

Second Battle of Rochensalm

Sea battles in the eighteenth century were not always victorious. This is explained by the deplorable state of the fleet. After all, after the death of Emperor Peter I, no one cared about him properly.

Twenty years after the stunning victory over the Turks Russian fleet suffered a resounding defeat from the Swedes.

In 1790, the Swedish and Russian fleets met near the Finnish town of Kotka (formerly called Rochensalm). The first was commanded personally by King Gustav III, and the admiral in the last was the Frenchman Nissau-Singen.

176 Swedish ships with 12,500 crew and 145 Russian ships with 18,500 sailors met in the Gulf of Finland.

Hasty actions on the part of the young Frenchman led to a crushing defeat. The Russians lost more than 7,500 men, in contrast to 300 Swedish sailors.

Scientists say that this is the second battle with the largest number of ships in modern and recent history. We will talk about the grandest battle at the end of the article.

Tsushima

The cause of defeats was often various shortcomings and excessive zeal. For example, if we talk about the Battle of Tsushima, it occurred precisely when the Japanese fleet had an advantage in all respects.

The Russian sailors were extremely tired after a months-long journey from the Baltic to the And the ships were inferior to the Japanese in fire power, armor and speed.

As a result of the admiral's rash act, the Russian Empire lost its fleet and any significance in this region. In exchange for a hundred wounded Japanese and three sunk destroyers, the Russians lost more than five thousand people killed, and more than six thousand were captured. In addition, out of thirty-eight ships, nineteen were sunk.

Battle of Jutland

The Naval Battle of Jutland is considered the largest battle at sea during the battle. During the battle, 149 British and 99 German ships fought. In addition, several airships were used.

But the beauty of the events did not lie in the enormous displacement of the equipment or the number of wounded and killed. Not even in the consequences of the battle. Main feature, which only the Jutland naval battle can boast of, was a surprise.

Both fleets accidentally collided in the Skagerrak Strait, near Due to an intelligence error, the British walked very slowly and slowly towards Norway. The Germans were moving in the opposite direction.

The meeting turned out to be completely unexpected. When the English cruiser "Galatea" decided to inspect a Danish ship that accidentally found itself in these waters, a German ship was just leaving the "At the Fjord", which had already inspected it.

The British opened fire on the enemy. Then the rest of the ships arrived. The Battle of Jutland resulted in a tactical victory for the Germans, but a strategic defeat for Germany.

Pearl Harbor

When listing the naval battles of World War II, we should especially focus on the battle near Pearl Harbor. The Americans called it the “Attack on Pearl Harbor,” and the Japanese called it Operation Hawaiian.

The goal of this campaign was to proactively gain superiority in the Pacific region. The United States expected to enter into a war with the Empire of the Rising Sun, so military bases were created in the Philippines.

The mistake of the American government was that they did not seriously consider Pearl Harbor as a target for the Japanese. They expected an attack on Manila and the troops based there.

The Japanese wanted to destroy the enemy fleet and, with the help of this, simultaneously conquer airspace over the Pacific Ocean.

Only chance saved the Americans. The new aircraft carriers were in a different location during the attack. About three hundred aircraft and only eight old battleships were damaged.

Thus, the successful Japanese operation played a cruel joke in the future for this country. We will talk about her crushing defeat further.

Midway Atoll

As you have seen, many great naval battles are characterized by the suddenness of the battle. Usually one or both parties do not expect any trouble in the near future.

If we talk about Midway Atoll, the Japanese wanted to repeat Pearl Harbor again in six months. But they set their sights on a second powerful American base. Everything could have happened according to plan, and the empire would have become the only power in the Pacific region, but US intelligence officers intercepted the message.

The Japanese attack failed. They were able to sink one aircraft carrier and destroy about one and a half hundred aircraft. They themselves lost more than two hundred and fifty aircraft, two and a half thousand people and five large ships.

The planned superiority overnight turned into a crushing defeat.

Leyte Gulf

Now let's talk about the largest naval battle of the war. Apart from ancient battles near the island of Salamanca, this is the most ambitious battle at sea in the entire history of mankind.

It lasted four days. Here again the Americans and the Japanese clashed. The expected attack on the Philippines in 1941 (instead of Pearl Harbor) nevertheless happened three years later. During this battle, the Japanese first used kamikaze tactics.

The loss of the world's largest battleship, the Musashi, and the damage to the Yamato, put an end to the empire's ability to dominate the region.

So, during the battle, the Americans lost about three and a half thousand people and six ships. The Japanese lost twenty-seven ships and more than ten thousand crew.

Thus, in this article we briefly got acquainted with the largest naval battles in Russian and world history.

Author Vitaly Borisovich Kharlamov, Volgograd. To put it briefly, there are not just a lot of letters, but a lot.
When on May 31, 1916, the captain of the English light cruiser (*) Galatea ordered to open fire on the German destroyers (2*), he had no idea that these salvoes would be the first in the largest naval battle in the history of mankind. On this day, in the North Sea, the two most powerful fleets of their time, the British Grand Fleet and the German High Seas Fleet, met. We met to put an end to the dispute: whose fleet dominates the sea. And as a result, the following flared up:

By the spring of 1916, the land front had finally stabilized. Turning land battles into “giant meat grinders” that did not live up to the hopes placed on them. And the submarine war unleashed by Germany could not bring it quick victory. The war increasingly turned into a war of resources. In a war of attrition. Which could not bring victory to Germany, with its limited capabilities. And then the German command decided to use the last “trump card” remaining in Germany. Its second largest battle fleet in the world. With the help of which, the German General Staff hoped to win the long-awaited victory at sea. And thereby take England out of the war. Most strong countries coalition opposing Germany.

The High Seas Fleet is on the move.

What was required was to lure part of the English fleet out of their bases and try to destroy it with a blow from the main forces. For this purpose, German cruisers were sent on a raid to the shores of England. In the hope that after this, part of the Grand Fleet's forces will relocate from Scapa Flow to the south. They succeeded. Under the influence of public opinion, the Grand Fleet was divided into 4 squadrons. Based at various bases along the east coast of England. But the intensification of the actions of the main forces of the German fleet alerted the British. After the German battlecruisers' raid on Lowston, they expected another sortie. Intending, using a scenario similar to the German one, to lure part of the German fleet under the muzzles of the heavy guns of the Grand Fleet. And thereby finally establish their dominance at sea. Thus two huge fleets put to sea. And their admirals had no idea what forces they would face. As a result, the collision of the fleets turned out to be purely accidental. Not provided for by any plan of the warring parties.

Grand Fleet at sea.

Prelude to battle.

The German fleet left the main fleet base at 1 am on May 31st. And headed north, towards the Skagerrak Strait. At the forefront of the fleet were 5 battlecruisers (3*) of Vice Admiral Hipper, supported by 5 light cruisers and 33 destroyers. With the task of bringing part of the Grand Fleet's forces to the entire High Seas Fleet. Light cruisers and destroyers sailed in a semicircle ahead of the battlecruisers at a distance of 7-10 miles. Behind the ships of Admiral Hipper's squadron, 50 miles later, were the main forces of the German fleet.

The High Seas Fleet from a Zeppelin.

But even earlier, 16 submarines were sent to sea. Which were supposed to take positions near British bases. And stay on them from May 24 to June 1. Which predetermined the Germans’ entry into the sea on May 31st. Despite the weather. Moreover, most of the submarines, 7 units, were deployed against the Firth of Forth, where the fleet of battlecruisers was based. One was located at the exit from Kromary Bay, where the 2nd squadron of battleships was located. Two submarines were deployed against Scapa Flow, where the main forces of the English fleet were located. The remaining submarines were deployed along the east coast of England. The main task of these submarines was reconnaissance. However, they had to set up minefields along the expected routes of the British ships. And subsequently attack the ships leaving the bases. Direct reconnaissance on the battlefield was to be carried out by airships. But 5 German airships that took off at noon on May 31, due to unsuccessfully assigned routes, found nothing. They were not even above the battle site.

Torpedo compartment of a German submarine.

The Grand Fleet went to sea before the German fleet. As soon as human intelligence and radio interception reported that large ships of the High Seas Fleet were preparing to go to sea. Safely escaping a curtain of German submarines. Although some ships received erroneous signals about the detection of German submarines.

4th Grand Fleet Dreadnought Squadron ("Iron Duke", "Royal Oak", "Superb", "Canada") in the North Sea

However, it took time to gather the ships from different bases into a single fist. So the 2nd squadron of battleships (4*) was able to join the main forces of the British fleet only at 11 o’clock. And Admiral Beatty's squadron was still south of Admiral Jellicoe's ships. Only at about 2 p.m. did Admiral Beatty order to turn north. Intending to join up with his fleet. The trap set by Admiral Jellicoe for the German fleet was about to be sprung. When suddenly the unexpected happened.

2nd squadron of battleships of the German High Seas Fleet.

Chance meeting.

Shortly before Admiral Beatty's ships turned north, smoke was spotted from the German light cruiser Elbing. And 2 of the destroyers accompanying the cruiser were sent to inspect the spotted ship. It turned out to be the neutral Danish steamer N.G. Fjord. But fate would have it that at the same time as the Germans, the Danish steamer was discovered by the English light cruiser Galatea. Guarded by Admiral Beatty's squadron. And as a result, at 14 hours 28 minutes, the Galatea, together with the light cruiser Phaeton that approached it, opened fire on the German destroyers. Who hastened to retreat from the battlefield. However, the Elibing soon joined the destroyers and the battle broke out with renewed vigor. At 14:45 a seaplane was lifted from the Engadine air transport. Which at 1508 hours discovered 5 enemy battle cruisers. The pilot tried three times to contact his command and provide information. Which never reached Admiral Beatty.

British battle cruiser "Lyon".

At this time, both squadrons set a new course. And at full speed, cutting the waves with their stems, they rushed towards each other. Thus, by chance, the British battlecruisers met the enemy separated from their main forces. They could only act according to the previously planned plan. And try to bring enemy ships to the main forces of your fleet.

Deployment of Admiral Beatty's squadron before the battle.

At 15:30 both squadrons made visual contact. And seeing the British advantage in strength, Admiral Hipper turned his ships to join the main forces of the High Seas Fleet. However, Admiral Bitte's battlecruisers, taking advantage of their advantage in speed, began to gradually catch up with the German ships. But the British, who had longer-range artillery, did not open fire. Due to an error in determining the distance to the target. The Germans remained silent, waiting for the British to come closer so they could fire more effectively from their smaller guns. In addition, the 5th British battleship squadron was still out of sight from the German ships. And without receiving an order from Admiral Beatty to change course, she continued to go east for some time. Moving away from the battlefield.

Development of the battle from 15-40 to 17-00.

Free cheese without a mousetrap.

Only at 15 hours 50 minutes, being at a distance of 80 cables (5*), the battle cruisers of both squadrons opened fire. By order of the admirals, the ships of both sides fired at the enemy ship corresponding to it in the ranks. But the British made a mistake and the German battle cruiser Derflinger was not fired upon by anyone at the beginning of the battle. The distance between the squadrons continued to decrease and by 15 hours 54 minutes reached 65 cables. Anti-mine artillery entered the battle. The ships sailed surrounded by columns of water from continuously falling shells. By that time, the squadrons had reformed and rushed south.

"Derflinger".

At about 16 o'clock, Admiral Beatty's flagship cruiser "Lion" was hit by a shell, which almost became fatal for it. The shell hit the third turret, pierced the armor and exploded under the left gun. All the gun servants died. And only the courage of the mortally wounded tower commander, Major Harvey, saved the ship from destruction. However, the cruiser was forced to withdraw from service. This allowed his enemy, the German battlecruiser Derflanger, to transfer fire to the battlecruiser Queen Mary. “Seydlitz” also fired at it.

Battlecruiser Queen Mary.

At 16:02, the battle cruiser Indefatigable, which was at the end of the British column, was hit by a salvo from the battle cruiser Von der Tann, which was firing at it. And disappeared into smoke and flames. Most likely the shell pierced the deck and hit the artillery magazine of the aft tower. The Indefatigable, diving astern, rolled out of formation. But the next salvo also hit the dying ship. A terrible explosion shook the air. The cruiser lay on the left side, turned over and disappeared. The agony of "Indefatigable" lasted only about 2 minutes. Of the huge crew, only four managed to escape.

Battlecruiser "Invincible".

But the fight lasted. Seeing the difficult situation of his linear forces, Admiral Beatty at 16:10 sent the 13th destroyer flotilla to attack the Germans. 11 German destroyers headed by the light cruiser Regensburg advanced towards them, crossing the course of the battlecruisers. And they entered the battle, covering their ships. When the destroyer formations dispersed, they were missing 2 destroyers. The Germans are “V-27” and “V-29”, and the British are “Nomat” and “Nestor”. And if the “Germans” died directly during the battle. Moreover, “V-27” was sunk by a torpedo from the destroyer “Petard”, and “V-29” was killed by artillery fire. Then the “English” lost momentum, but remained afloat. And they were finished off by German battleships. Having time before death, fire torpedoes at the battleships of the High Seas Fleet. True, to no avail, the torpedoes did not hit the target.

The British destroyer "Abdiel" alongside the light cruiser.

At this time, the battlecruiser Lion again took its place in the ranks. But the Derflinger continued to fire at the Queen Mary. Until at 16:26 the second tragedy broke out. The 11th salvo of the Deflanger hit the Queen Mary (6*). The explosion of ammunition tore the ship apart so much that the next in line, the Tiger, was covered in debris. But when a few minutes later the Tiger passed through the site of the death of the Queen Mary, it found no traces of the deceased battle cruiser. And the column of smoke from the Queen Mary explosion shot up half a kilometer. Within 38 seconds, 1266 English sailors died (7*). But, despite such heavy losses, the British continued the battle. And they even increased their strength. The 5th squadron of battleships joined the English battlecruisers.

Meanwhile, torpedo attacks from both sides followed one after another. At 16:50, 6 German destroyers attacked the British ships to no avail. Of the 7 torpedoes fired, not one hit the target. On the other hand, 4 British destroyers attacked the battle cruiser Seydlitz. Of the torpedoes fired by the destroyers, one still hit the bow of the German ship.
At the same time, the main forces of the German fleet appeared on the horizon. Admiral Beatty turned north. The German ships, repelling the attacks of the British destroyers, followed the enemy in front formation. The German fleet had overwhelming superiority in everything except speed. Taking advantage of this, Admiral Beatty withdrew his battle cruisers from under enemy fire.

Battlecruiser Indefatigable

And the battleships of the 5th squadron began to lead the enemy to Admiral Jillico’s squadron, firing at the lead ships of the German fleet. Which were hit by 5 to 10,381 millimeter shells. But the British ships also received significant damage. The battleship Warepite received 13 hits, and having a damaged steering gear, was forced to leave the battlefield. The battleship "Malaya" received 8 shells. At the same time, one of them pierced the armor of the mine artillery casemate, caused a cordite fire, the flames from which shot up to the level of the masts, and disabled all the starboard artillery and 102 crew members. The battleship Barham received 6 shells.

Battleship "Malaya".

Fighting continued between the light forces of the fleets. At 17:36 a 19-minute battle took place between the cruisers of both sides. Moreover, due to decreased visibility, the German light cruisers came under fire from the British armored cruisers (8*). Part of the vanguard of the main forces of the Grand Fleet. As a result, the German light cruisers Wiesbaden and Pillau were damaged. Moreover, the Wiesbaden vehicles, which were damaged, lost speed. And the ships of the English 3rd squadron of battlecruisers, appearing from behind the haze, turned the Wiesbaden into a blazing bonfire. At this time, there followed an attack by 23 German destroyers on 4 British destroyers and the light cruiser Canterbur. As a result of this battle, the British destroyer Shark was sunk, and the remaining British ships received significant damage. In response, the British destroyers successfully attacked the battle cruiser Lützow with torpedoes. This German cruiser fired back from the enemy ships surrounding it until 19:00. So far, the torpedo of the English destroyer Defenger has not finished off the Wiesbaden. And the waves of the North Sea did not close over him. The crew of the Wiesbaden perished along with their ship. Only one person managed to escape.

Battlecruiser Lützow.

At the same time, carried away by the shooting of German light cruisers, the British armored cruisers came too close to the German battle cruisers. As a result, the armored cruiser Defense exploded after receiving 2 salvos from the Luttsov. And after 4 minutes, the depths of the sea swallowed the ship along with 903 crew members and the commander of the 1st squadron of armored cruisers, Admiral Arbuthnot.

British armored cruiser Defense

The cruiser "Warrior" was threatened with the same consideration. But he was obscured by the battleship Warspite. As a result of damage to the rudders received in a battle with German battleships, it rolled out of action. And by chance he found himself between the Warrior and the German cruisers. And he took the blow. True, as a result of mutual maneuvers, both “Warrior” and “Waspite” collided several times and, due to the damage received, were forced to leave the battlefield.

Light cruiser "Wiesbaden"

The “moustrap” that never slammed shut.

At 18:14 the main forces of the British fleet majestically appeared from the haze. The High Seas Fleet was still trapped. Fire was concentrated on 4 English ships on the lead German ships. The hits followed one after another. But the German gunners were not in debt either. A salvo from the battle cruiser Derflanger turned out to be fatal for the English battle cruiser Invincible. At 18:31, shells ripped open the side in the area of ​​the middle towers. "Invincible" split in half. Taking with him into the depths of the sea almost the entire crew, and Admiral Hood, commander of the 3rd squadron of battlecruisers. Only 6 people were saved. But this was the last major success of the German fleet. The British began methodically shooting their opponents.

Development of the battle from 17-00 to 18-00.

"Lutzow" gradually fell silent. The bow of the battle cruiser was engulfed in flames, the superstructures were destroyed, and the masts were knocked down. Admiral Hipper left the Lützow, which had lost its combat value, and transferred to the destroyer G-39. Intending to transfer to another battlecruiser. But during the day he failed and the captain of the Derflinger commanded the battlecruisers. But the Derflinger itself was a pitiful sight. 3 towers out of 4 were destroyed. Columns of fire from gunpowder burning in the towers rose higher than the masts. In the bow of the cruiser, at the waterline, British shells created a hole measuring 5 by 6 meters. The ship took on 3,359 tons of water. The crew lost 154 people killed and 26 wounded (9*). The Seydlitz looked no less terrible.

All that remains of the battlecruiser Invincible.

Seeing such a deplorable state of his fleet, Admiral Scheer ordered the entire fleet to turn “all of a sudden” and set on a reverse course. And he sent the 3rd flotilla of destroyers to attack the enemy. Hoping to get out from under the fire in this way. The destroyer attack was successful. At 18:45 the battleship Marlboro was torpedoed. But the ship maintained 17 knots and did not leave the battlefield. True, a day later, having sank almost 12 meters, with a list to starboard, the battleship barely reached the base. The torpedo was fired by the destroyer V-48. Achieved success at the cost of his own death. This destroyer was chalked up to the gunners of the Marlboro.

British armored cruiser "Warrior".

At this point in the battle there are two interesting moments. The first point is that the Germans claim that a 381-mm projectile hit the main armor belt of the Derflinger. Allegedly, the projectile hit the armor and ricocheted. But the English battleships opposing the Germans at that moment had only 305-mm and 343-mm guns. And ships with 381-mm guns were on the flanks of the English column. And they did not fire at the German battlecruisers. The second point is to relate to the only, in the entire history of the ship, full broadside, the only seven-tower battleship in the world, the Egincourt. This salvo caused the ship to tilt dangerously and there was a danger of the ship capsizing. Because of this, such salvos were never fired again. And on the neighboring ships, seeing pillars of flame and smoke enveloping the Egincourt, they decided that another English ship had exploded. And the English officers hardly managed to prevent the panic that was emerging on the ships of the Grand Fleet.

And "Erin" too. But in the background, and so "Edzhikort"

The British fire weakened, but continued to harass the German ships. Therefore, at about 19 o'clock, Admiral Scheer turned his fleet on the opposite course, again giving the order to raise the "all of a sudden" signal. Admiral Scheer intended to attack the end British ships and slip under the stern of the Grand Fleet. But the German ships again found themselves under concentrated fire from the British battleships. The thickening haze increasingly interfered with aimed fire. In addition, the English ships were on the dark side of the horizon. And they had an advantage over German ships. Their silhouettes stood out clearly against the background of the setting sun.

English battleship "Iron Duke"

At this critical moment of the battle, seeing that he was being tried from the bases, Admiral Scheer sent all the remaining destroyers to attack. The attack was led by heavily damaged battlecruisers. The battle cruisers closed with the enemy to 8,000 meters, and the destroyers at 6,000-7,000 meters. At 19:15, 31 torpedoes were fired. And although none of the torpedoes hit the target. And the destroyer S-35 was sunk by the British. This attack achieved its goal. Forcing the English ships to change course. What saved the High Seas Fleet. Which, with the start of the attack by the destroyers, turned again “all of a sudden” and began to quickly leave the battlefield. And at 19:45, having escaped the ring of British ships, the German fleet headed south.

Airship L-31 over the battleship Ostfriesland

But the fight is not over yet. At 20:23, British battle cruisers suddenly emerged from the haze. And they opened fire on the German battle cruisers that had greatly annoyed them. Clearly intending to settle accounts with them. But at this difficult moment for the ships of Admiral Hipper, help came to him. After the turn, they found themselves in front of the entire squadron, obviously taken into battle for the sake of numbers, the obsolete battleships (10*) of the 2nd squadron were just in the process of changing formation. To take a more appropriate place for them, at the end of the column.
As a result, these battleships found themselves to the east of other German battleships. And by changing course, they were able to shield their battlecruisers, taking the blow upon themselves. This bold attack, held up by the destroyers, forced the British ships to turn and disappear into the darkness. The night was coming into its own more and more. A night that allowed the British to somewhat brighten up, for them, the joyless result of the battle.

Development of the battle from 18-15 to 21-00

Flame in the middle of the night.

The sun disappeared behind the horizon. The sky was getting darker. But at 20:58 the horizon was again illuminated by gunfire. In the beams of the searchlights one could see the Germans and English lungs cruisers. As a result of this battle, several cruisers on both sides were damaged, and the German light cruiser Fraenlob, damaged in the day's battle, was sunk.

German battleship "Prince Regent Luitpold"

A little later, the British 4th destroyer flotilla launched an attack on the German battleships. At the same time, the destroyer Tupperer was sunk and the destroyer Speedfire was damaged. The attack was unsuccessful, but while performing an anti-torpedo maneuver, the battleship Posen rammed the light cruiser Elbing. The British only managed to damage the destroyer S-32. Which lost speed, but was taken in tow and brought to the base.
At 22:40 a torpedo from the British destroyer Contest hit the light cruiser Rostock, which had been heavily damaged in previous battles. During this attack by the British 4th Destroyer Flotilla, the British destroyers Sparrowheavy and Brooke were damaged. At 23:00 the 4th flotilla attacked the German ships for the third time, albeit unsuccessfully. At the same time, the destroyer Fortuna was sunk and the destroyer Roproid was damaged. At 23:40 there was another British torpedo attack. 13 destroyers, from different flotillas, attacked the German battleships to no avail. And the destroyer "Turbulent" was added to the list of losses of the Grand Fleet.

"Deutschland" from the 2nd squadron

Around this time, the High Seas Fleet crossed the Grand Fleet's course. Located about two miles from the last battleship of the Grand Fleet. And from the battleships of the 5th squadron they saw attacks by destroyers. And on one of the battleships they even identified the enemy. But during the battle, the commander of the Grand Fleet, Admiral Jellicoe, never learned about the battles of the light forces of the fleet with German battleships, or that these same battleships passed by the guns of the battleship entrusted to him. And literally at a direct shot distance. Pointlessly continuing the search for the German fleet. From now on, only moving away from the High Seas Fleet.

German light cruiser "Ariadne" of the same type as the cruiser "Fraenlob"

At 0:07 a.m., the British armored cruiser Black Prince and the destroyer Adent approached the German battleships at a distance of 1000 meters and fired upon them. A few minutes later, the ships engulfed in fire lost speed. A huge fire raging on the deck of the cruiser illuminated the sides of German battleships and cruisers passing by. Until there was an explosion and the Black Prince sank into the sea. The Adent sank somewhat earlier than the cruiser.
But the British quickly got even for this loss. At 0 hours 45 minutes, the 12th destroyer flotilla, led by the scout (11*) "Iturling", went on the attack. 20 minutes later, one of the fired torpedoes hit the obsolete battleship Pomern. The explosion detonated the ammunition and the ship almost instantly disappeared in a huge cloud of smoke. Along with the ship, its crew - 840 people - also died. This was the heaviest loss of the German Navy in the Battle of Jutlan. In addition to the battleship, in this last clash of the fleets, the German destroyer V-4 was lost along with its entire crew.

Explosion of the battleship "Pomern"

The death of the destroyer "V-4" became one of the mysteries of the Battle of Jutland. The ship was guarded by the German fleet on the opposite side of the battlefield. There were no submarines or minefields in this place. The destroyer simply exploded.
German destroyers searched for English ships throughout the night. But only the cruiser Champion was discovered and attacked to no avail. German torpedoes missed.
According to the plan, the high-speed minelayer "Abdiel" on the night of May 31, on June 1, renewed the minefields on the approach to the German bases. Exhibited by him a little earlier. On one of these mines, at 5:30 a.m., the battleship Ostfriesland was blown up. But the ship retained its combat capability and returned to base.

Damage to the light cruiser Pillau after the Battle of Jutland

According to the plan, the British covered the approaches to enemy bases with submarines. On May 31, 3 British submarines E-26, E-55 and D-1 took up positions. But they had orders to attack enemy ships only from June 2. Therefore, when the German ships returned to their bases, passing over the heads of the British submariners, they lay calmly on the seabed. Bidding for time.

Battleship Posen

The German submariners also did not distinguish themselves. At 10 o'clock, the damaged Marlboro was attacked by 2 submarines. Walking to the base. But the attacks were ineffective. The Warspite was also attacked by a single German submarine. But the ship, which had a speed of 22 knots, not only dodged the torpedoes. But he even made an attempt to ram the enemy

German submarine UC-5

But the ships continued to die. At 1 hour 45 minutes the battle cruiser Lützow was abandoned by the crew and sunk by a torpedo from the destroyer G-38. In the daytime battle he received 24, only large-caliber, shells and a torpedo. The bow of the cruiser was almost completely destroyed; about 8,000 tons of water entered the hull. The pumps could not cope with so much water and the increasing trim on the bow exposed the propellers. It was impossible to continue the journey. And the command of the High Seas Fleet decided to sacrifice the ship. The surviving 960 crew members transferred to destroyers.

At 2 o'clock on June 1, the light cruiser Elbing sank. The cause of the death of the cruiser was the destroyer Sparrowheavy. Damaged during a night battle and having lost its stern section. At 2 o'clock in the morning, the Sparrowheavy sailors saw a German light cruiser emerging from the fog and prepared for the last battle. But the German ship, without firing a single shot, suddenly began to sag and disappeared under water. This was “Elbing”. After the collision, the cruiser lost speed and was abandoned for the most part crew. But the captain of the cruiser and several dozen volunteers remained on the ship. Trying to use the wind and currents to escape into neutral waters. But at dawn they saw the English destroyer and hastened to scuttle the ship. Following the Elbing, at 4 hours 45 minutes, the German light cruiser Rostock followed to the bottom of the North Sea. The crew fought for the life of the ship until the last minute. The British armored cruiser Warrior sank at 7 o'clock, having received 15 heavy and 6 medium shells in the day's battle. And at 8:45 a.m., the Sparrowheavy was finished off by friendly fire after its crew had been removed.
Personally, the commander of the Grand Fleet was never able to find the German fleet. And at 4 hours 30 minutes the British ships headed for the base. Not knowing that his fleet was discovered by one of the five German Zeppelins that took off to replace the first five. And the German commander had all the information received by his subordinates.

Development of the situation from 21-00 until the end of the battle.

Jutland's last exploit.

The gun salvos died down, but the battle was not over yet; the battle cruiser Seydlitz was still at sea. In the battle, the ship received 21 shells with a caliber of 305-381 millimeters, not counting smaller shells and a torpedo in the bow. The destruction on the ship was terrible. 3 towers out of 5 were destroyed, the bow generators failed, the electricity went out, the ventilation did not work, and the main steam line was interrupted. The strong impact caused the housing of one turbine to burst and the steering gear to jam. The crew lost 148 people killed and wounded. All nasal compartments were filled with water. The stem almost completely disappeared under water. To level the trim, the aft compartments had to be flooded. The weight of water that got inside the hull reached 5329 tons. Already at dusk, the oil filters failed and went out. latest boilers. The ship completely lost its combat value and swayed helplessly on the waves. All mechanical means of combating the survivability of the ship have failed. Admiral Scheer had already included Seydlitz on the list of battle casualties. And leaving the lost ship, the German fleet went south. Firing back from British destroyers. Who, carried away by the pursuit, did not notice the stopped Seydlitz.

"Seydlitz"

But the crew continued to fight. Buckets, vetoes, and blankets were used. Mechanics, in complete darkness, were able to climb under the foundation of the boilers, replace the filters and start up some of the boilers. The cruiser came to life and crawled stern-first towards its native shores. But to top all the troubles, during the battle all the nautical charts on the ship were destroyed and the gyrocompass failed. Therefore, at 1 hour 40 minutes the Seydlitz ran aground. True, not for long. The crew managed to bring the ship to clean water. At dawn, the light cruiser Pillau and destroyers approached the battle cruiser to help. But at 8 o'clock the uncontrollable Seydlitz was again stranded. And when a few hours later, through the incredible efforts of the crew, the cruiser was refloated, a storm broke out. Attempts by the Pillau to take the Seydlitz in tow were unsuccessful. And Seydlitz once again found itself on the brink of death. But wayward Fortune remained favorable to the ship's crew. And late in the evening of June 2, the ship dropped anchor at the mouth of the Yade River. Thus, putting an end to the Battle of Jutlan.

Pyrrhic victory.

Historians are still arguing. Finding out the winner in the Battle of Jutlan. Fortunately, both commanders reported the victory to their admiralties. And at first glance, Admiral Scheer was right in his report. The Grand Fleet lost 6,784 men killed, wounded and captured. Of its composition, 3 battle cruisers, 3 armored cruisers and 8 destroyers (a total of 111,980 tons of displacement) were lost. And the High Seas Fleet lost 3,029 people and lost an outdated battleship, a battleship, 4 light cruisers and 5 destroyers (62,233 tons of displacement). And this, despite the one and a half times superiority of the British. So if you look from the tactical side, the victory remained with the Germans. The Germans also won a moral victory. They were able to sow fear in the hearts of English sailors (12*). The Germans were also able to demonstrate the superiority of their technology over the English (13*). But then why, after Jutland, did the German fleet enter the North Sea only at the end of 1918? When, under the terms of the truce, he went to surrender at the main base of the Grand Fleet.

"Westfalen"

The answer is simple. The High Seas Fleet failed to complete its assigned mission. He was unable to defeat the English fleet, gain supremacy at sea and bring England out of the war. And the Grand Fleet, in turn, maintained its superiority at sea. Even despite very heavy losses. And for another quarter of a century the English fleet was considered the greatest fleet in the world. But Jutland was a “Pyrrhic victory,” a victory on the brink of defeat. And this is precisely why there is no ship in the English Navy with the name "Jutland". And it’s clear why the German Navy doesn’t have a ship with the same name. Ships are not named after defeat.

Bibliography.
1. G. Scheer “The Death of the Cruiser “Blücher”. St. Petersburg, 1995. Series “Ships and Battles”.
2. G. Haade “On the Derflinger in the Battle of Jutlan.” St. Petersburg, 1995. Series "Ships and Battles".
3. Shershov A.P. "History of military shipbuilding." St. Petersburg, 1995 "Polygon".
4. Puzyrevsky K. P. “Battle damage and loss of ships in the Battle of Yutlan.” St. Petersburg 1995
5. "Valecne lode", "Druni svetova" "Nase vojsko pnaha".
6. Model designer 12"94. Balakin S. "Super-dreadnoughts". Art. 28-30.
7. Modeler designer 1"95. Kofman V. "New hypostasis of the battleship." Art. 27-28.
8. Model designer 2"95. Balakin S. "The incredible return of Seydlitz." Art. 25-26.
In addition, materials from numbers 11"79, 12"79, 1"80, 4"94, 7"94, 6"95, 8"95 "Model Designer" were used.

"Thuringen"

Fleet organization:

1. English fleet:

1.1 Main forces:
2 squadron of battleships: "King George 5", "Ajax", "Centurion", "Erin", "Orion", "Monarch", Conqueror, "Tunderer".
4 squadron of battleships: Iron Duke, Royal Oak, Superb, Canada, Bellerophon, Temeraire, Vanguard.
1 squadron of battleships: "Marlborough", "Rivenge", "Hercules", "Edjicourt", "Colossus", "St. Vincent", "Collingwood", "Neptune".
3 squadron of battlecruisers: "Invincible", "Inflexible", "Idomitable".
1.2 Vice Admiral Beatty's squadron: flagship - Lion.
1 squadron of battlecruisers: "Princess Royal", "Queen Mary", "Tiger".
2 squadron of battlecruisers: New Zealand, Indefatigable.
5th squadron of battleships: "Barham", "Valiant", "Warspite", "Malaya".
1.3 Light powers:
1, 2 squadrons of armored cruisers: "Defence", "Warrior", "Duke of Edinburgh", "Black Prince", "Minotaur", "Hampshire", "Cochran", "Shanon".
1, 2, 3, 4 squadrons of light cruisers (23 in total).
1, 4, part 9 and 10, 11, 12, 13 destroyer flotillas (total 3 light cruisers and 75 destroyers).

"Edjicourt"

German fleet
2.1 Main forces:
3 squadron of battleships: "König", "Grosser Kurfust", "Markgraf", "Kronprinz", "Kaiser", "Princeregent Leopold", "Kaiserin", "Frederick der Grosse".
1 squadron of battleships: "Ostfriesland", "Thuringen", "Helgoland", "Oldinburg", "Posen", "Rhineland", "Nassau", "Westphalen".
2nd squadron of battleships: Deutschland, Pomern, Schlesien, Hanover, Schleiswing-Holstein, Hesse.
2.2 Admiral Hipper's reconnaissance detachment:
battlecruisers: "Lutzow", "Derflinger", "Seydlitz", "Moltke", "Von der Tann".
2.3 Light powers:
2, 4 light cruiser detachments (9 in total).
1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9 destroyer flotillas (total 2 light cruisers, 61 destroyers).

"Von der Tann"

Notes

* A ship with a displacement of 2500-5400 tons, having a speed of up to 29 knots (up to 54 km/h) and 6-10 guns with a caliber of 102-152 mm. Designed for reconnaissance, raiding and raiding operations, protecting battleships from enemy destroyers.
2* A ship with a displacement of 600-1200 tons, with a speed of up to 32 knots (up to 60 km/h), 2-4 small-caliber guns and up to 4 torpedo tubes. Designed for torpedo attacks on enemy ships.
3* A ship with a displacement of 17000-28400 tons, having a speed of 25 - 28.5 knots (46-53 km/h) and 8-10 guns with a caliber of 280-343 mm. designed to combat raiders, support light forces, and pin down enemy battleships in a squadron battle.
4* A ship with a displacement of 18,000-28,000 tons, having a speed of 19.5 - 23 knots (36-42.5 km/h) and 8-14 guns with a caliber of 280-381 mm. Constituting the main forces of the fleets and intended to seize and maintain dominance at sea.
5* cables - 185.2 meters (80 cables - 14816 meters, 65 cables - 12038 meters).
6* It is assumed that the Queen Mary was hit by 15 305-millimeter shells.
7* 17 people were saved from the Queen Mary.
8* An obsolete type ship with a displacement of up to 14,000 tons, with a speed of up to 23 knots (up to 42.5 km/h), which had up to 20 guns with a caliber of 152-234 mm. Performed the same functions before the advent of battlecruisers.
9* During the battle, the Derflinger was hit by 21 heavy shells.
11* An obsolete type ship with a displacement of up to 14,000 tons, with a speed of up to 18 knots (33 km/h), which had 4 guns of 280 mm caliber. And before the advent of "dreadnoughts" they performed the same functions.
12* Light cruiser of small displacement.
13* The Germans were able to strike fear in the hearts of English sailors. And so Admiral Jellicoe did not risk pursuing the High Seas Fleet. To force a day battle on the Germans on June 1st. Although he could oppose the 1 remaining battleship squadron of the Germans with 3 of his own. And that's not counting light forces.
14* So the battle showed that the 305 mm. the German shell penetrated the side armor of the British battle cruisers already from 11,700 meters, and the English 343 mm. the shell penetrated the thicker armor of German battlecruisers from only 7880 meters. In addition, the survivability of English ships, unlike German ones, and their critical devices wanted much better. The Germans, having fired 3491 shells with a caliber of 280-305 mm, against 4538 British shells with a caliber of 305-381 mm, achieved 121 hits on British ships, against 112 English shells that hit German ships.