Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/59/1 - September 1916 - Part 8

10 77
They would report: - “Number
four has fired another salvo"
- & presently the things would
arrive. They sent fountains
of foam as high as / masthead.
But we had extraordinary
luck. Only  They straddled
us constantly, but only one
shell hit us on this ship
It caught the base of the
after turnet & punched a
large pagment of armour out
it. This fell into the
wrret workings & blocked the
turnet for 20 minutes. But
afterwards we managed
clear it in 20 minutes
& it fell outo the floor of the
working chamber, & was
carried round wI turret
as it revolved, during rest
of action. But no one we
hurt & it did no harm whatever
We were lucky in th way. We
 

48
 

79
had all our guns form
practicall all through -+
we fired 100rounds more
than any other ship - we
fin avay nearly half our
amonn. Capt Hatsey; now
captain on the staff of the Cm.C.
tormely first commander of
but t we
this ship told with be noticed,
when the grand Freet came up
twe were pring away alloay
gans - & he said that it looked
water five
I saw to bit of steel
purched fom the New Zealand’s
Turret. It ws lying on the
deck, aft. The shell had struck
& expladed; it had not piersed
farmour but had punched
this big pragment out. The
Edges were clear cut as if sawn;
the pin on the shell had wrenched
the metal around the centre in
circular direction, leaving strongly
 

one
 

80
marked cormbles on it like
thas of a caterine wheel
The shall had better about 3
inches deep & the armour wd
be 8 I suppose, in thickness
In one ship - I fogt which
l Tyer I think, or perhaps
Warspite, a shell expladed in
of the turrets & killed all
the crew exc. the Major of
Marines in charge off gan.
There were cordite charges
there wh started burning. The
Major had his legblown off
But he managet to wark
the on the ammunition
room below to shat off
their chamber
& So previnted
an explocion like to wh
blew up oother ships I
behieve he died - owr given
the V.C. but I may be
mexing up two incedents.
But this has nothing to do
land. The
with the vew 3e
 

81
German crensers stomed along
paratlel to ours, & a little
ahead of them, I fancy, until
there appeared on horizon
a new formation of ships
coming up fast from the South.
It was the main forman
High Seas Fleet.
our men) say; that - german
or no germans, the High Seas
Fleet as it came up madea
splendid spectacl. You know-
it ws I first time we had rally ie had 1chan
ever of seeing anyt reet
except our own worth 5t
me. The High das Fleet came
up in perfect order, every
ship eastly in place, smaking
heavily & moving fast - they
was really looked magnificent.
we had done the first
part of our job - so we turned
16 points & made Northwards
again. The german cruisers
turned tooa & their posito
 

82
 

was now at the head of their
battle line. They meant, no
doubt, to bead us into their
battle fleet & crust us; & it
was our turn now to lead hem
up to our bat fleets th
bring on a fleebaction.
parallel?
so we kept on jast sufficientl
ahead of them to lead him somewhat
As we were turning we
came under the fire of the
leading ships of Hih seas Fleet.
4
That pain is what they call
Windy Corner- It was hot but
they did us nogreat damage
think hed to tis
however was when ships of
First Cruiser Squadron were
senk - the Shannon Defence
+ Black Prince (were th not?) &
the warrior disabled. They
saw it all from the New Zealom
after the two lines had
steaming North for a good while
been
 

Epoih
 

84
The three leading ships in the
enemys line were all barning
& knocked about, when
we saw the ferman couldal
on the hovigon the f sheps
of the grand Fleet We a
quickened & turned to starboard
50 as to head round the leading ships
of the High Seas Fleet I crossed their
T50 to speak. Then we
turned S points again & came
down on a southerty course on
the far side of them - the inland
side
As our lait cleared they
must have found across
teir bows the long time of
ships of the grand fleet
I think that is the first they
would see of them. They
turned abonce 16 points &
made for the South. The
rant see te after tem
following us - I coming on the
inshove side of them.
We had done what we
 

85
wished todo. We had led the
german Sleek up to the grand Fleet,
& brought on a battle i the grang
sleet was inhore of them, so th
the fermans wd have to fight.
Our job ws ended - we were
not meant to fight battleshige.
so we gorged alead for
us to fight really ended. We
thought we were in for some
nice soft job firing
at light cruisers-
I am sters I saw one
cruie turn out of their
cine
with a heavy list +s
I think
it must have by the Letzow
an Their kin leaving saids
ever burning werrih of t
were quite satisfied it result.
The admial had always reacomed
on it costing him so
of his
ships to bring on a fleet gation
and his inlunter alonge con to
borng it on at all costs. Now
as well as anyone
had be
 

36
co wish it to be done
We
thought - in the morning the
grand sleet will fiish
them
We could not realh
tell where we were duting
night in relation to them
&it was an anxious morning
when morning booke for we
did not quite know when we
d not find ourseloes in
middle of them battle fleet
However they were not to be
seen
What had hexpened. I
believe ws this. Admiral Fellicoe
had ordered his destioyers in
after dark to attack thei
battlesheps. Our destroyers
went in extraordinarily
bravely (& the formationo
seman fleet as broken up
in repelling thear attacks. You
know how it is at nighe-
you lose your next ahead
 

87
in Idark you have suckley.
chance of finting her. Ths
fleed wo troken up into twos
o three & had nothing to do
but to find its way back
to kingly or in small gronges
its home ports Tsapped
to
behind us
are this
ae
ey (dark & disappearng
two cruwers of theirs
I
beheve
were lettonton
water
& took four days
in
getting back Unfortunatel
ae meased them. I believe
the
Seydlitz sank as she
tos going into havbour but
it is very hard to say if she
ws sank or only badly clamaged
I don't know if germans have
published ther wull loases yet
or not. Certainly man
their ships were badly damated. As
 

88
for tindestroyers tey you
ad fire at thim as thy came
at you
& not see them
again & it we hard to
i
ay if they were or no
We sailed about for a
time till it as clear th
germans had got away
o then we came back to
port to fill up & repair
The damage we extraordinan
small. There we hardly a
ship toed not have pone
out straght away + fought
again at once. They most
of them had teng teee
doing controt posites to
be repaires & so on but
they cd all have bo fought
of sand seet
The battleships had no
serious damag at all
The Colossus, in 1 dock there
ws hit by one shot which
yon can see aplashed over