Periscope Publishing Books & Videos
The Shipwrecks of the Battle of Jutland
On May 31st 1916, the greatest naval conflagration of all time took place in the North Sea. The forces of Britain and Germany fought the battle that could have decided the outcome of the First World War. At its end 25 warships had been sunk and over 8,500 sailors had been killed. Of the ships lost, three were British battle cruisers, which simply blew-up and sank in seconds, causing Admiral Beatty to remark ‘There appears to be something wrong with our bloody ships today’.
In 2000, a diving team set out to hunt down and dive on some of the wrecks of the
Battle of Jutland. In the hostile waters of the North Sea, they were able to
locate, photograph and film HMS Invincible, HMS Queen Mary, HMS Black
Prince and the German battle cruiser Lutzow.
These wrecks are time capsules from the era of the ‘big gun’. This film tells the story of
the Battle of Jutland and explains where the wrecks are located and how they
got there. It brings together historical knowledge and new underwater film to
recreate this most momentous action in the histories of the navies of Great
Britain and Germany. What a pleasure this video was to see. It is very professionally made in very clear colour with a first-class narrative. It is not; as many documentaries are, spoilt by non-stop music. There is music at the appropriate places, but other than that the single spoken narrative is provided by a female in a very clear precise voice, every word of which is understandable. Again this is a contrast to those constant TV programmes where they seem to produce at least six experts to tell the same tale. The diving itself takes us down to see HM ships, Invincible, (Invincible Class Battle Cruiser) Queen Mary (Lion Class Battle Cruiser) and, Black Prince, (Black Prince armoured cruiser) plus the German ship Lutzow. We are told only five of the ships sunk at Jutland have been found. INVINCIBLE CLASS. (Completed 1908-09.) INVINCIBLE. INFLEXIBLE. INDOMITABLE. The Invincible class were
the first battlecruisers to be built. The type was a cruiser edition of the
Dreadnought, combining great offensive qualities with high speed. The displacement
was 17,250 tons, length 530 ft., and the turbines of 41,ooo h.p. were designed
for a speed of 25 knots. In service, however, these vessels steamed at more
than 28 knots. They were armed with eight 12-in guns, mounted in four double
turrets, one turret being placed at each end and the other two en echelon
amidships. This system enables all eight weapons to be fired on either broadside through a very limited arc.
Sixteen 4-in. guns were mounted for repelling torpedo attack. The waterline
and vital parts were protected by 7-in. armour, this being also the thickness
of the turret plates. Coal to the amount of 2,500 tons was carried. The
complement was 780 officers and men. These vessels each cost over £1,700,000 to
build and equip. The video finishes by showing us a gun, the forward turret from HMS Chester -- the very gun manned by Boy Seaman First Class John (Jack) Travers Cornwell VC now at the Imperial War Museum, London-- ex boy seamen from HMS. St Vincent will remember the famous painting of "Jack Cornwell" sat at his post: "this" painting, or a copy was for many years kept at HMS St Vincent, Gosport, the Boys' Training Establishment. There has been some debate in the HMS St Vincent newsletter regarding the whereabouts of this painting. Writing in the autumn 1997 newsletter Mike Burton said "I hear a quiet voice from the distant past telling me that the oil painting of John cornwell VC, that used to hang in the seamanship block, was sent to the Royal Naval College at Greenwich. The newsletter editor said, "having the re-read, Tom Robson's book Boy Seaman RN, he states that the painting of John Cornwell VC, by Frank O. Salisbury, was presented to the Admiralty at Mansion House on 23rd March 1917. I wonder if this was the actual painting that looked down upon us in the seamanship block, or was it one of a number of copies of the Boy Cornwell?" Do you know where the original is? Whether your interest is diving or the Royal Navy I would highly recommend this video.REVIEW
