Battle of Jutland order of battle

Last updated October 28, 2025

The Battle of Jutland was fought on 31 May and 1 June 1916, in the waters of the North Sea, between forces of the Royal Navy Grand Fleet and Imperial German Navy High Seas Fleet. The battle involved 250 warships, and, in terms of combined tonnage of vessels engaged, was the largest naval battle in history.

The Royal Navy had established a blockade of the North Sea at the start of the war and the German Hochseeflotte could not match the larger Grand Fleet. The German plan was to use the threat of an attack by their battlecruisers on British ports to lure the British battlecruisers into a trap where they could be defeated by a superior force of battleships without encountering the rest of the Grand Fleet. Aware of all German naval movements, the British fleet sortied to support their battlecruisers and bring the German fleet to battle. ^[1]

In the event, although more British ships were sunk or damaged, the overall strategic situation was unchanged.

Summary

Ships present

Warships by number and size of main armament
	Royal Navy	Imperial German Navy
Dreadnoughts	28 in total 8 × 15-inch 2 × Revenge class (28,000 tons displacement, 21 knots top speed) 4 × Queen Elizabeth class (27,500 tons, 24 kn.) 10 × 14-inch HMS Canada (28,622 tons, 23 kn.^[a]) 10 × 13.5-inch 3 × King George V class (25,420 tons, 21 kn.) 3 × Iron Duke class (25,000 tons, 21.5 kn.) HMS Erin (22,780 tons, 21 kn.) 4 × Orion class (21,922 tons, 21 kn.) 14 × 12-inch HMS Agincourt (28,750 tons, 22 kn.) 10 × 12-inch 2 × Colossus class (20,030 tons, 21 kn.) HMS Neptune (19,680 tons, 21 kn.) 3 × St Vincent class (19,700 tons, 21 kn.) 3 × Bellerophon class (18,596 tons, 21 kn.)	16 in total 10 × 12-in. 4 × Kaiser class (25,420 tons, 21 kn.) 4 × König class (25,389 tons, 21 kn.) 12 × 12-in. 4 × Helgoland class (22,448 tons, 20.5 kn.) 12 × 11-in. 4 × Nassau class (18,575 tons, 19 kn.)
Pre-dreadnought battleships		6 total' 4 × 11-in. SMS Hessen (12,999 tons, 18 kn.) 5 × Deutschland class (12,983 tons, 19 kn.)
Battlecruisers	9 total 8 × 13.5-in. HMS Tiger (28,500 tons, 28 kn.) HMS Queen Mary (26,770 tons, 28 kn.) 2 × Lion class (26,270 tons, 27.5 kn.) 8 × 12-in. 2 × Indefatigable class (18,500 tons, 25.8 kn.) 3 × Invincible class (17,250 tons, 25 kn.)	5 total 8 × 12-in (30.5 cm) 2 × Derfflinger class (26,200 tons, 26.5 kn.) 10 × 11-in. SMS Seydlitz (24,593 tons, 26.5 kn.) SMS Moltke (22,216 tons, 25.5 kn.) 8 × 11-in. SMS Von der Tann (19,060 tons, 24.8 kn.)
Armoured cruisers	8 total 4 × 9.2-in., 5 × 7.5-in. 3 × Minotaur class (14,600 tons, 23 kn.) 4 × 9.2-in., 2 × 7.5-in. 2 × Warrior class (12,590 tons, 23 kn.) 4 × 9.2-in., 5 × 6-in. 2 × Duke of Edinburgh class (12,590 tons, 23 kn.) 3 × 7.5-in., 3 × 6-in. HMS Hampshire (10,850 tons, 22 kn.)
Smaller ships	26 × light cruisers 79 × destroyers (including one destroyer-minelayer)	11 × light cruisers 61 × torpedo boats

British capital ships carried a larger weight of broadside—332,360 lb (150.76 t) compared to 134,216 lb (60.879 t)—than the German ones.^[2]

The German Navy's torpedo boats were of similar size and function to the destroyers in the Royal Navy, and are often referred to as such.^{[ citation needed ]}

Losses

Losses of the fleets with date of loss
	Pre-dreadnought battleships	Battlecruisers	Armoured cruisers	Light cruisers	Destroyers / Torpedo boats
Royal Navy		HMS Invincible (31 May) HMS Queen Mary (31 May) HMS Indefatigable (31 May)	HMS Defence (31 May) HMS Warrior (1 June) HMS Black Prince (1 June)		3 (31 May) 5 (1 June)
Imperial German Navy	SMS Pommern (1 June)	SMS Lützow (1 June)		SMS Frauenlob (31 May) SMS Rostock (1 June) SMS Elbing (1 June) SMS Wiesbaden (1 June)	3 (31 May) 2 (1 June)

Abbreviations

Officers killed in action are indicated thus: †

Abbreviations for officers’ ranks (German ranks translated according to current NATO practice)^[b]^{[ clarification needed ]}:

Adm / Admiral

VAdm / Vice-admiral : Vizeadmiral / VAdm

RAdm / Rear-admiral : Konteradmiral / KAdm

Cdre / Commodore : Kommodore / Kom

Capt / Captain : Kapitän zur See / KptzS

Cdr / Commander : Fregattenkapitän / FKpt

Lt Cdr / Lieutenant-commander : Korvettenkapitän / KKpt

Lt / Lieutenant : Kapitänleutnant / KptLt

SLt / Sub-lieutenant : Oberleutnant zur See / OLtzS

Other abbreviations

Frhr:Freiherr / title in the Prussian nobility equivalent to Baron)

SMS: Seiner Majestät Schiff / German; translation: His Majesty's Ship)

the Hon.: The Honourable

Royal Navy

Grand Fleet

Began sortie from Scapa Flow 9.30pm 28 May^[4]
The Grand Fleet ^[5]^[6] was the main body of the British Home Fleets in 1916, based at Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands and Invergordon on the Cromarty Firth in Scotland.^[c]

Commander-in-chief, Grand Fleet: Admiral Sir John Jellicoe, in HMS Iron Duke

Second in Command, Grand Fleet: Vice-Admiral Sir Cecil Burney, in HMS Marlborough

Chief of Staff: Vice-Admiral Sir Charles Madden,

Captain of the Fleet: Commodore Lionel Halsey, C.B., C.M.G., AdC.

Master of the Fleet: Captain Oliver Leggett

Battleships

2nd Battle Squadron (battleships)^[d]

Vice-Admiral Sir Thomas Martyn Jerram

Sortied from Cromarty Firth; rendezvoused with Jellicoe's force around noon 31 May

1st Division: Vice-Admiral Jerram

HMS King George V (flagship): Capt Frederick Field

HMS Ajax: Capt George Henry Baird

HMS Centurion: Capt Michael Culme-Seymour

HMS Erin: Capt the Hon. Victor Stanley

2nd Division: Rear Admiral Arthur Leveson

HMS Orion (flagship): Capt Oliver Backhouse

HMS Monarch: Capt George Borrett

HMS Conqueror: Capt Hugh Tothill

HMS Thunderer: Capt James Fergusson

Fleet Flagship (at head of 3rd Division but not part of 4th Battle Squadron)

HMS Iron Duke: Capt Frederic Charles Dreyer

4th Battle Squadron (battleships)

Vice-Admiral Sir Frederick Charles Doveton Sturdee, 1st Baronet

3rd Division:^[e] RAdm Alexander Duff

HMS Royal Oak: Capt Crawford Maclachlan

HMS Superb (flagship): Capt Edmond Hyde Parker

HMS Canada: Capt William Nicholson

4th Division: VAdm Sturdee

HMS Benbow (flagship): Capt Henry Wise Parker

HMS Bellerophon: Capt Edward Francis Bruen

HMS Temeraire: Capt Edwin Veale Underhill

HMS Vanguard: Capt James Douglas Dick

1st Battle Squadron (battleships)^[f]

Admiral Sir Cecil Burney

Chief of Staff: Commodore Percy Grant

5th Division: Rear Admiral Ernest Gaunt

HMS Colossus (flagship): Capt Dudley Pound

HMS Collingwood: Capt James Clement Ley

HMS St. Vincent: Capt William Wordsworth Fisher

HMS Neptune Capt Vivian Bernard

6th Division: VAdm Burney

HMS Marlborough (flagship): Capt George Parish Ross

HMS Revenge: Capt Edward Buxton Kiddle

HMS Hercules: Capt Lewis Clinton-Baker

HMS Agincourt: Capt Henry Montagu Doughty

Cruisers

1st Cruiser Squadron (armoured cruisers)^[g]
Rear-Admiral Sir Robert Arbuthnot, 4th Baronet †

HMS Defence (sunk 31 May) (flagship): Capt Stanley Venn Ellis †
HMS Warrior (sunk 1 June): Capt Vincent Barkly Molteno
HMS Duke of Edinburgh: Capt Henry Blackett
HMS Black Prince (sunk 1 June): Capt Thomas Parry Bonham †

2nd Cruiser Squadron (armoured cruisers)^[h]

Rear-Admiral Herbert Heath

HMS Minotaur (flagship): Capt Arthur Cloudesley Shovel Hughes D'Aeth ^[i]
HMS Hampshire: Capt Herbert John Savill
HMS Shannon: Capt John Saumarez Dumaresq
HMS Cochrane: Capt Eustace La Trobe Leatham

4th Light Cruiser Squadron

Commodore Charles Edward Le Mesurier

HMS Calliope: Commodore Le Mesurier
HMS Constance: Capt Cyril Samuel Townsend
HMS Comus: Capt Alan Hotham
HMS Caroline: Capt Henry Crooke
HMS Royalist: Capt the Hon. Herbert Meade

Light cruisers attached for repeating visual signals

HMS Boadicea: Capt Louis Charles Stirling Woollcombe (attached to 2nd B.S.)
HMS Active: Capt Percy Withers (attached to Fleet Flagship)
HMS Blanche: Capt John Casement (attached to 4th B.S.)
HMS Bellona: Capt Arthur Brandreth Scott Dutton (attached to 1st B.S.)

Other ships under direct command of the Commander-in-Chief^[j]

HMS Abdiel: Cdr Berwick Curtis (fast minelayer)
HMS Oak: Lt Cdr Douglas Faviell (tender to the flagship of the Grand Fleet)

Destroyers

Faulknor-class flotilla leader Broke at speed Ww1pddBroke.jpg — *Faulknor*-class flotilla leader *Broke* at speed

The bow and stern of the battlecruiser Invincible standing upright on the bed of the North Sea after exploding during the Battle of Jutland. Rear Admiral Hood and her captain were killed along with the crew. InvincibleWrecksp2470.jpg — The bow and stern of the battlecruiser *Invincible* standing upright on the bed of the North Sea after exploding during the Battle of Jutland. Rear Admiral Hood and her captain were killed along with the crew.

4th Destroyer Flotilla ^[k]

Captain Charles John Wintour †

HMS Tipperary (Faulknor-class flotilla leader, sunk 1 June) : Capt Wintour †

First half-flotilla / 4th D.F.
- HMS Spitfire: Lt Cdr Clarence Walter Eyre Trelawney
- HMS Sparrowhawk (scuttled 1 June following collision): Lt Cdr Sydney Hopkins
- HMS Garland: Lt Cdr Reginald Stannus Goff
- HMS Contest: Lt Cdr Ernald Gilbert Hoskins Master

Group 8 / 4th D.F.^[l]

HMS Owl: Cdr Robert Gerald Hamond

HMS Hardy: Cdr Richard Anthony Aston Plowden

HMS Mischief: Lt Cdr the Hon. Cyril Augustus Ward (from 12th D.F.)

HMS Midge: Lt Cdr James Robert Carnegie Cavendish

Second half-flotilla / 4th D.F.
- HMS Broke (Faulknor-class flotilla leader): Cdr Walter Lingen Allen
- 3rd Division / 4th D.F.
  - HMS Porpoise: Cdr Hugh Davenport Colville
  - HMS Unity: Lt Cdr Arthur Macaulay Lecky
- 4th Division / 4th D.F.
  - HMS Achates: Cdr Reginald Becher Caldwell Hutchinson, D.S.C.
  - HMS Ambuscade: Lt Cdr Gordon Alston Coles
  - HMS Ardent (sunk 1 June): Lt Cdr Arthur Marsden
  - HMS Fortune (sunk 1 June): Lt Cdr Frank Goodrich Terry †

11th Destroyer Flotilla ^[m]

Commanded by Commodore Hawksley in HMS Castor, a light cruiser

First half-flotilla / 11th D.F.
- 1st Division / 11th D.F.
  - HMS Ossory: Cdr Harold Victor Dundas
  - HMS Martial: Lt Cdr Julian Harrison
  - HMS Magic: Lt Cdr Gerald Charles Wynter
  - HMS Minion: Lt Cdr Henry Clive Rawlings
- 2nd Division / 11th D.F.
  - HMS Mystic: Cdr Claud Finlinson Allsup
  - HMS Mons: Lt Cdr Robert Makin
  - HMS Mandate: Lt Cdr Edward McConnell Wyndham Lawrie
  - HMS Michael: Lt Cdr Claude Lindsay Bate
Second half-flotilla/11th D.F.

HMS Kempenfelt (Marksman-class flotilla leader): Cdr Harold Ernest Sulivan

- 3rd Division / 11th D.F.
  - HMS Marne: Lt Cdr George Bibby Hartford
  - HMS Milbrook: Lt Charles Granville Naylor
  - HMS Manners: Lt Cdr Gerald Harrison
- 4th Division / 11th D.F.
  - HMS Moon: Cdr (Acting) William Dion Irvin
  - HMS Mounsey: Lt Cdr Ralph Vincent Eyre
  - HMS Morning Star: Lt Cdr Hugh Undecimus Fletcher

12th Destroyer Flotilla ^[n]

Captain Anselan John Buchanan Stirling

HMS Faulknor (Faulknor-class flotilla leader): Capt Stirling

First half-flotilla / 12th D.F.
- 1st Division / 12th D.F.^[9]
  - HMS Obedient: Cdr George William McOran Campbell
  - HMS Mindful: Lt Cdr John Jackson Cuthbert Ridley
  - HMS Marvel: Lt Cdr Reginald Watkins Grubb
  - HMS Onslaught: Lt Cdr Arthur Gerald Onslow †
- 2nd Division / 12th D.F.
  - HMS Maenad: Cdr John Pelham Champion
  - HMS Narwhal: Lt Cdr Henry Victor Hudson
  - HMS Nessus: Lt Cdr Eric Quentin Carter
  - HMS Noble: Lt Cdr Henry Percy Boxer
Second half-flotilla / 12th D.F.: Cdr Norton Allen Sulivan
- HMS Marksman (Marksman-class flotilla leader): Cdr Norton Allen Sulivan
- HMS Opal: Cdr Charles Geoffrey Coleridge Sumner
- HMS Nonsuch: Lt Cdr Herbert Inglis Nigel Lyon
- HMS Menace: Lt Cdr Charles Astley Poignand
- HMS Munster: Lt Cdr Spencer Francis Russell
- HMS Mary Rose: Lt Cdr Edwin Anderson Homan

3rd Battle Cruiser Squadron

This squadron, temporarily attached to the Grand Fleet from the Battle Cruiser Fleet, was stationed ahead of the main body, with the intention that it join Beatty when the action began.
Rear-Admiral The Hon. Horace Hood, (KIA)

Battlecruisers
- HMS Invincible (sunk 31 May) (flagship): Capt Arthur Lindesay Cay (KIA)
- HMS Inflexible: Capt Edward Heaton-Ellis
- HMS Indomitable: Capt Francis William Kennedy
Accompanying cruisers
- HMS Canterbury :^[o] Capt Percy Royds
- HMS Chester :^[p] Capt Robert Neale Lawson
Attached destroyers ^[q]
- HMS Shark (sunk 31 May): Cdr Loftus William Jones (KIA)
- HMS Ophelia: Cdr Lewis Gonne Eyre Crabbe (Admiralty M-class destroyer)
- HMS Christopher: Lt Cdr Fairfax Moresby Kerr
- HMS Acasta: Lt Cdr John Ouchterlony Barron

Battle Cruiser Fleet

This force of high-speed ships was subordinate to the Commander in Chief of the Grand Fleet, but operated independently as an advanced guard, intended to reconnoiter the enemy fleet and to engage enemy scouting forces. At its core were six battlecruisers, accompanied by 13 light cruisers, and escorted by 18 destroyers and an early aircraft carrier. ^[r]
Sortied from Firth of Forth soon after 6.00pm 30 May^[4]
Vice-Admiral Sir David Richard Beatty in HMS Lion

Chief of Staff: Capt Rudolph Bentinck

Battlecruisers

HMS Lion: (flagship) Captain Ernle Chatfield

1st Battlecruiser Squadron: Rear Admiral Osmond Brock on Princess Royal
- HMS Princess Royal (flagship): Capt Walter Cowan,
- HMS Queen Mary (sunk 31 May): Capt Cecil Prowse (KIA)
- HMS Tiger: Capt Henry Bertram Pelly.
2nd Battlecruiser Squadron:^[s] Rear Admiral William Pakenham,
- HMS New Zealand (flagship): Capt John Green
- HMS Indefatigable (sunk 31 May): Capt Charles Fitzgerald Sowerby (KIA)

Light cruisers

1st Light Cruiser Squadron: Cdre Edwyn Alexander-Sinclair
- HMS Galatea Cdre Alexander-Sinclair
- HMS Phaeton: Capt John Cameron
- HMS Inconstant: Capt Bertram Thesiger
- HMS Cordelia: Capt Tufton Beamish
2nd Light Cruiser Squadron: Cdre William Goodenough
- HMS Southampton: Cdre Goodenough
- HMS Birmingham: Capt Arthur Duff
- HMS Nottingham: Capt Charles Blois Miller
- HMS Dublin: Capt Albert Charles Scott
3rd Light Cruiser Squadron: Rear Admiral Trevylyan Napier
- HMS Falmouth (flagship): Capt John Douglas Edwards
- HMS Yarmouth: Capt Thomas Drummond Pratt
- HMS Birkenhead: Capt Edward Reeves
- HMS Gloucester: Capt William Frederick Blunt

Attached to the light cruisers was the seaplane tender HMS Engadine (Lt Cdr Charles Gwillim Robinson) carrying two Short Type 184 reconnaissance seaplanes and two Sopwith Baby fighter seaplanes.

Destroyers

13th Destroyer Flotilla ^[t]
Captain James Uchtred Farie

HMS Champion (light cruiser): Capt Farie

1st Division / 13th D.F.

HMS Obdurate: Lt Cdr Cecil Henry Hulton Sams

HMS Nerissa: Lt Cdr Montague George Bentinck Legge

HMS Termagant: Lt Cdr Cuthbert Patrick Blake (attached from 10th D.F., Harwich Force)

HMS Moresby: Lt Cdr Roger Vincent Alison (detached to escort HMS Engadine)

2nd Division / 13th D.F.^[10]

HMS Nestor (sunk 31 May): Cdr the Hon. Edward Bingham

HMS Nomad (sunk 31 May): Lt Cdr Paul Whitfield

HMS Nicator: Lt Jack Ernest Albert Mocatta

HMS Onslow: Lt Cdr John Tovey (detached to escort HMS Engadine)

3rd Division / 13th D.F.^[11]

HMS Narborough: Lt Cdr Geoffrey Corlett

HMS Pelican: Lt Cdr Kenneth Adair Beattie

HMS Petard: Lt Cdr Evelyn Thomson

HMS Turbulent (sunk 1 June):^[u] Lt Cdr Dudley Stuart †

Attached Harwich Destroyers (9th Destroyer Flotilla): Cdr Malcolm Lennon Goldsmith^[v]

1st division / 9th D.F.

HMS Lydiard: Cdr Goldsmith

HMS Liberty: Lt Cdr Philip Wilfred Sidney King

HMS Landrail: Lt Cdr Francis Edward Henry Graham Hobart

2nd division / 9th D.F.

HMS Moorsom: Cdr John Coombe Hodgson (from 10th D.F.)

HMS Laurel: Lt Henry Dawson Crawford Stanistreet

HMS Morris: Lt Cdr Edward Sidney Graham (from 10th D.F.)

5th Battle Squadron

The 5th Battle Squadron was a special unit of fast Queen Elizabeth-class battleships, intended to act as the vanguard of the main battle line. At the Battle of Jutland, it operated with the Battlecruiser Fleet, and was escorted by the 1st Destroyer Flotilla.^[w]
Rear-Admiral Hugh Evan-Thomas
Sortied from Firth of Forth with the Battle Cruiser Fleet soon after 6.00pm 30 May

Battleships

HMS Barham (flagship): Capt Arthur William Craig

HMS Valiant: Capt Maurice Woollcombe

HMS Warspite: Capt Edward Montgomery Phillpotts

HMS Malaya: Capt the Hon. Algernon Boyle

1st Destroyer Flotilla ^[x]^[13]^[14]

HMS Fearless (light cruiser): Capt Charles Donnison Roper

HMS Defender: Lt Cdr Laurence Reynolds Palmer

1st Division / 1st D.F.

HMS Acheron: Cdr Charles Ramsey

HMS Ariel: Lt Cdr Arthur Grendon Tippet

HMS Attack: Lt Cdr Charles Herbert Neill James

HMS Hydra: Lt Francis George Glossop

2nd Division / 1st D.F.

HMS Badger: Cdr Charles Albert Fremantle

HMS Lizard: Lt Cdr Edward Brooke

HMS Goshawk: Cdr Dashwood Fowler Moir

HMS Lapwing: Lt Cdr Alexander Hugh Gye

Imperial German Navy

High Seas Fleet (Hochseeflotte)

The High Seas Fleet was the main body of the German surface navy, principally based at Wilhelmshaven, on the Jade River in North-West Germany.^[15]^[16]

Commander-in-Chief (Chef der Hochseeflotte): Vizeadmiral Reinhard Scheer in SMS Friedrich der Grosse

Chief of Staff: KptzS Adolf von Trotha

Chief of Operations: KptzS Magnus von Levetzow