H.M.S. Ajax at the Battle of Jutland

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Ajax operated in the Second Battle Squadron under the command of George H. Baird,[1] being the second ship in the battle line after deployment. The ship was almost entirely frustrated in its effort to contribute to the fight.

Further Report[2]

From—The Commanding Officer, H.M.S. "Ajax."
Date—2nd June, 1916. No. CR. 118/11.
To—The Vice-Admiral Commanding Second Battle Squadron.
Former—V.A. 2nd B.S. Signal (1815) of 2.6.16.

REMARKS ON ACTION OF 31st MAY, 1916.
H.M.S. " AJAX."

With reference to your signal (1815) of to-day, Friday, I have practically nothing to report. Until shortly after 7.0 p.m. the enemy were not seen, due to smoke and funnel gas of ships proceeding to the head of the line.

2. Shortly after 7.0 p.m.[3] a clearer view was obtained, and one salvo was fired at an enemy battle-cruiser at 19,000 yards. This fell short.

3. The 4th Light Cruiser Squadron then crossed the line of sight proceeding to attack, and again obscured the view, so I ordered cease firing.

4. After that nothing was seen but patches of dense smoke at too far a distance for any hope of effective fire.

5. It appeared to me that each enemy ship was accompanied by a Destroyer which emitted dense volumes of smoke with the idea of obscuring the target.

GEO. H. BAIRD,
Captain.

Footnotes

  1. Battle of Jutland Official Despatches. p. 43.
  2. Battle of Jutland Official Despatches. p. 377.
  3. This time was estimated at 7.10 p.m. in the Second Battle Squadron's report, and the target hinted at being a Derfflinger class ship.

References

  • Admiralty (1920). Battle of Jutland 30th May to 1st June 1916: Official Despatches with Appendices. Cmd. 1068. London: His Majesty's Stationary Office.
  • Campbell, N.J.M. (2000). Jutland: An Analysis of the Fighting. New York: The Lyons Press. ISBN 1-55821-759-2. (on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk).