Jutland 1916, 18:10 Jellicoe Deploys

Jellicoe, unable to discern the position of Scheer’s approaching High Seas Fleet, was faced with a dilemma over which direction to deploy his ships. Based on limited information, he sent out the order for the Grand Fleet to deploy eastwards at 18:15. At the same time, Beatty was moving east in front of Jellicoe to assist Hood, whose ships had attracted the attention of Scheer and Hipper’s forces which had now converged into a single formation. HMS Defence was sunk whilst trying to attack the remains of SMS Wiesbaden. At the same time, HMS Warspite’s steering malfunctioned and it drew heavy German fire as it spiralled uncontrollably. Hipper approached Hood’s formation and at 18:30 fired on Invincible which was quickly sunk with Admiral Hood aboard her. At the same time Jellicoe’s Grand Fleet appeared in formation in front of the Germans, taking them completely by surprise. Scheer then executed a 180-degree turn at 18:33.