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Second Battle of Heligoland Bight

December 04, 2023

For other similarly-named battles, see Battle of Heligoland.

The Second Battle of Heligoland Bight, also the Action in the Helgoland Bight and the Zweite Seeschlacht bei Helgoland, was an inconclusive naval engagement fought between British and German squadrons on 17 November 1917 during the First World War.

Second Battle of Heligoland Bight
Part of the First World War

HMS Calypso at the battle, during which she was severely damaged, drawn by William Lionel Wyllie
Date17 November 1917
Location
Heligoland Bight, North Sea
54°10′N 8°04′E / 54.167°N 8.067°E / 54.167; 8.067
Result Indecisive
Belligerents
 United Kingdom  German Empire
Commanders and leaders
Trevylyan Napier
William Pakenham		 Ludwig von Reuter
Strength
3 battlecruisers
8 light cruisers
10 destroyers		 2 battleships
4 light cruisers
8 destroyers
14 minesweepers
Casualties and losses
22 men killed, 43 wounded
1 light cruiser damaged		 21 men killed, 40 wounded, 22 prisoners of war
1 minesweeper sunk
1 light cruiser damaged
Heligoland Bight
class=notpageimage|
Location of the engagement

Background edit

British minelaying edit

The British used sea mining defensively to protect sea lanes and trade routes and offensively to impede the transit of German submarines and surface ships in the North Sea, the danger of which was illustrated on 17 October 1917 by the sortie of the German Brummer-class cruisers SMS Brummer and SMS Bremse (the action off Lerwick) against the Scandinavian Convoy. (During 1917, six U-boats were sunk by British mines and in two years, the German minesweeping counter-effort suffered the loss about 28 destroyers and 70 minesweepers and other ships.)[1]

The Germans had been forced into minesweeping up to 150 nmi (170 mi; 280 km) into the Heligoland Bight and in the southern Baltic Sea, covered by light cruisers and destroyers, with occasional distant support by battleships.[1] After the action off Lerwick, several proposals for attacks on the German minesweepers and escorts were canvassed at the Admiralty.[2] On 31 October, the British sent a large force of cruisers and destroyers into the Kattegat, which sank Kronprinz Wilhelm, an armed merchant ship and nine trawlers.[3][4]

German test trips edit

The prolific British laying of mines and net barrages outside the main German mine belts between Horns Reef and Terschelling, close to the bases of the High Seas Fleet (Hochseeflotte) forced the Kaiserliche Marine into surveying the British minefields, to find routes through them for transit into and back from the North Sea. Test trips were carried out, being substantial operations with ships to find the mines, minesweepers, torpedo boats (usually a continental term for destroyers), U-boats, barrier breakers and light cruisers, with air reconnaissance by Zeppelins and seaplanes. The Test trips were also protected by battleships on routes known to be free of mines.[3]

Prelude edit

North Sea operations edit

On 20 October, the British code breakers of Room 40, part of the Naval Intelligence Division of the Admiralty, decrypted orders to the submarine UB-61 to scout to the north of Bergen to find the new route of the Scandinavian Convoy. Agent reports from Copenhagen disclosed an imminent German attack by seven light cruisers and 36 destroyers.[5] During the week ending 11 November, British light cruisers, destroyers and a battlecruiser escort, conducted an abortive sweep along the fringe of the Heligoland Bight minefields.[3] By mid-November the Admiralty had obtained enough intelligence to intercept one of the big German minesweeping operations, provided that the ships based at Rosyth, in Scotland, could sail in time. The Admiralty decided that an offensive operation should begin on 17 November.[2]

Test trip, 17 November edit

 
Map showing the location of Borkum in the East Frisian Islands

The Germans planned a Test trip for 17 November 1917, comprising the 2nd and 6th Auxiliary Mine Sweeper Half-Flotillas, the 12th and 14th Torpedo Boat Half-Flotillas, Barrier Breaking Division IV and light cruisers of Scouting Group Division II, commanded by Rear-Admiral (Konteradmiral) Ludwig von Reuter from the 6th Mine Sweeper Half-Flotilla. The Kaiser-class battleships, SMS Kaiser and SMS Kaiserin from Squadron IV, each with ten 12 in (300 mm) guns, led by Captain (Kapitän zur See) Kurt Graßhoff in Kaiserin, were to act as covering force for the group. The battleships were to reach a point west of Heligoland by 7.00 a.m. while the Test trip group rendezvoused in the Heligoland Bight about half-way between Horns Reef and Terschelling. With poor weather grounding Zeppelins and making it impossible for light cruisers embark seaplanes, after they had alighted on the sea, the Test trip relied on reconnaissance patrols by two land-based seaplanes from Borkum on the German coast, just east of the Netherlands, for reconnoitring ahead of the group.[6]

British plan edit

 
Diagram showing the Frisian Islands, including Terschelling and Borkum (bottom left) and Sylt in the North Frisian Islands (top right), both part of the Wedden Sea archipelago

The German Test trip had been revealed by the code breakers of Room 40, allowing the British to plan an ambush.[7] On 16 November, orders for an attack on the Test trip were sent to Admiral Sir David Beatty, Commander-in-Chief of the British Grand Fleet. On 17 November 1917 a force of cruisers under Vice Admiral Trevylyan Napier was sent to attack the German minesweepers as they were mineweeping.[8]

Battle edit

The action began at 7:30 a.m., roughly 65 nmi (75 mi; 120 km) west of Sylt, when Courageous sighted German ships. She opened fire at 7:37 a.m. Reuter advanced with four light cruisers and eight destroyers towards the British ship to cover the withdrawal of the minesweepers, with all but the trawler Kehdingen (1906) [de], escaping the British detachment.[a] A stern chase ensued as the German forces, making skillful use of smokescreens, withdrew south-east at their best speed, under fire from the 1st Cruiser Squadron, the 1st Light Cruiser Squadron and the 6th Light Cruiser Squadron. Repulse was detached from the 1st Battle Cruiser Squadron and came up at high speed to join the battle. Both sides were hampered in their manoeuvres by the presence of naval minefields.

At about the same time, the light cruisers came under fire from Kaiser and Kaiserin, Kaiser-class battleships, which had come up in support of Reuter's ships; Caledon was struck by a 12.0 in (30.5 cm) shell, which damaged a gun turret; shortly afterwards, the British ships gave up the chase as they reached the edge of more minefields. A shell went through the upper conning tower of the light cruiser Calypso, killing the conning tower crew and mortally wounding the Captain, Herbert Edwards, on the bridge and knocking unconscious the navigator, Lieutenant-Commander M. F. F. Wilson. All personnel on the lower bridge were killed and the gunner officer, Lieutenant H. C. C. Clarke took command, which was made more difficult because the shell also cut all electrical communications and reduced the rate of fire.[9][b] The battlecruiser Repulse briefly engaged the German ships at about 10:00 a.m., achieving a hit on the light cruiser SMS Königsberg that started a serious fire.[10]

Aftermath edit

Analysis edit

 
French map of the Battle of Jutland (1916) showing (in black) the approximate area of German minefields in the North Sea

In 1984, Patrick Beesly wrote that the British operation was daring but that Napier was unjustly blamed for its failure to pursue the German ships with sufficient vigour. Room 40 was well informed about the positions of German minefields and the British fields which the Germans were trying to clear. The information had been added to Room 40's naval charts but the information was denied to Napier, who made decisions based on the charts he did have. Admiralty reluctance to disclose that their information was derived from the decoding of wireless intercepts had led to the naval commander's being ill-informed. The Admiralty did at least supply operational intelligence to the Naval commanders, after Beatty had made an emergency request when he was at sea. Napier was informed in ninety minutes by the Admiralty that German capital ships had sailed at 8:30 a.m. and the location of German cruisers, leading to Königsberg's receiving severe damage. At the least, Room 40 had prevented the British operation degenerating from fiasco to disaster.[7]

Casualties edit

In 1920, Admiral Reinhard Scheer wrote that the Germans suffered casualties of 21 men killed, ten seriously wounded and thirty men slightly wounded.[11] An Admiralty communiqué listed British casualties as one officer and 21 men killed, four officers and 39 men wounded; 22 prisoners were taken.[12]

Victoria Cross edit

Able Seaman John Carless of Walsall, aboard Commodore Cowan’s flagship Caledon, was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross for his bravery in continuing to load and fire his gun despite receiving mortal shrapnel wounds that opened his abdomen.[13]

Orders of battle edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ Two of the German destroyers were detached but rejoined during the battle
  2. ^ There is some dispute as to whether it was a 15 cm (5.9 in) or a 12.0 in (30.5 cm) shell which damaged Calypso; since she was hit at 9:40 a.m., before the German battleships opened fire, the former is the more likely.
  3. ^ The principal source for the British order of battle is Newbolt, Naval Operations volume V, page 168–169, footnote 2.[14] Additional organizational details are taken from The Admiralty (1917) Supplement to the Monthly Naval List, November 1917 (London: Harrison and Sons). Commanding officers are from The Admiralty (1917) Monthly Navy List, November 1917.
  4. ^ Repulse, which was faster and of shallower draft than the other British battle cruisers, was detached to support the 1st Light Cruiser Squadron at about 8:00 a.m.; she came into action around 9:00 a.m. and achieved a 15-inch hit on Königsberg at 9:58 a.m. at the end of the engagement.[16]
  5. ^ German large torpedo boats (großer torpedoboote) were of similar size and function to the destroyers in the Royal Navy and are often referred to as such.
  6. ^ The principal source for the German order of battle is Gladisch, pp. 56–57. Commanding officers are from Gladisch, Scheer op. cit., German Wikipedia articles on the cruisers, Dave Alton, Commanding Officers of German Capital Ships 1914-19 (accessed 29 May 2013) and Ehrenrangliste der Kaiserlich-Deutschen Marine 1914–18 [1930] (Konteradmiral a. D. Albert Stoelzel).[17]

Footnotes edit

  1. ^ a b Beesly 1984, p. 268.
  2. ^ a b Newbolt 2003, pp. 164–165.
  3. ^ a b c Harkins 2015, p. 32.
  4. ^ Halpern 1995, pp. 376–377; Newbolt 2003, pp. 164–165.
  5. ^ Beesly 1984, p. 279.
  6. ^ Harkins 2015, pp. 32–33.
  7. ^ a b Beesly 1984, p. 280.
  8. ^ Halpern 1995, pp. 376–377.
  9. ^ Newbolt 2003, p. 175.
  10. ^ Newbolt 1931, pp. 175–176; Burt 1986, p. 302.
  11. ^ Scheer 1920, p. 308.
  12. ^ Harkins 2015, pp. 38–39.
  13. ^ Carless, John Henry, Commonwealth War Graves Commission
  14. ^ Newbolt 1931, pp. 168–169.
  15. ^ a b c Harkins 2015, p. 42.
  16. ^ Newbolt 2003, p. 176.
  17. ^ Stoelzel 1930.

References edit

  • Beesly, P. (1984) [1982]. Room 40: British Naval Intelligence, 1914–1918 (repr. Oxford University Press ed.). London: Hamish Hamilton. ISBN 978-0-19-281468-5.
  • Burt, R. A. (1986). British Battleships of World War One. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-0-87021-863-7.
  • Halpern, P. G. (1995) [1994]. A Naval History of World War I (pbk. UCL Press, London ed.). Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-85728-498-4.
  • Harkins, H. (2015). Light Battle Cruisers and the Second Battle of the Heligoland Bight: Lord Fisher's Oddities. Glasgow: Centurion Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903630-52-5.
  • Newbolt, H. J. (1931). Naval Operations. History of the Great War Based on Official Documents by Direction of the Historical Section of the Committee of Imperial Defence. Vol. V (1st ed.). London: Longmans, Green & Co. OCLC 220475309.
  • Newbolt, H. J. (2003) [1931]. Naval Operations (with accompanying map case). History of the Great War Based on Official Documents by Direction of the Historical Section of the Committee of Imperial Defence. Vol. V (2nd facs. repr. Naval & Military Press and Imperial War Museum ed.). London: Longmans, Green & Co. ISBN 978-1-84342-493-2. Retrieved 11 November 2020 – via Archive Foundation.
  • Scheer, R. (1920). Germany's High Sea Fleet in the World War (Eng. trans. ed.). London: Cassell. pp. 304–309. OCLC 495246260. Retrieved 11 November 2020 – via Archive Foundation.
  • Stoelzel, Albert (1930). Ehrenrangliste der Kaiserlich-Deutschen Marine 1914–18 [Honor Rank List of the Imperial German Navy 1914–18]. Berlin: Marine-Offizier-Verband. OCLC 62432982.

Further reading edit

  • Goldrick, J. (2018). After Jutland: The Naval War in Northern European Waters June 1916 – November 1918 (ePub ed.). Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-68247-328-3.
  • Hurd, A. S. (2003) [1929]. The Merchant Navy. History of the Great War Based on Official Documents by Direction of the Historical Section of the Committee of Imperial Defence. Vol. III (facs. repr. Imperial War Museum Department of Printed Books and Naval & Military Press, Uckfield ed.). London: John Murray. ISBN 978-1-84342-567-0.
  • Marder, A. J. (1969). From the Dreadnought to Scapa Flow: The Royal Navy in the Fisher Era, 1904–1919: 1917, Year of Crisis. Vol. IV. London: Oxford University Press. OCLC 1072069754.
  • Massie, Robert K. (2003). Castles of Steel: Britain, Germany and the Winning of the Great War at Sea. London: Pimlico. ISBN 978-1-84413-411-3.
  • O'Hara, V.; Dickson, W. David; Worth, R., eds. (2013). To Crown the Waves: The Great Navies of the First World War. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-61251-269-3.

External links edit

  •   Media related to Battle of Heligoland Bight (1917) at Wikimedia Commons

December 04, 2023
second, battle, heligoland, bight, other, similarly, named, battles, battle, heligoland, also, action, helgoland, bight, zweite, seeschlacht, helgoland, inconclusive, naval, engagement, fought, between, british, german, squadrons, november, 1917, during, first. For other similarly named battles see Battle of Heligoland The Second Battle of Heligoland Bight also the Action in the Helgoland Bight and the Zweite Seeschlacht bei Helgoland was an inconclusive naval engagement fought between British and German squadrons on 17 November 1917 during the First World War Second Battle of Heligoland BightPart of the First World WarHMS Calypso at the battle during which she was severely damaged drawn by William Lionel WyllieDate17 November 1917LocationHeligoland Bight North Sea54 10 N 8 04 E 54 167 N 8 067 E 54 167 8 067ResultIndecisiveBelligerents United Kingdom German EmpireCommanders and leadersTrevylyan Napier William PakenhamLudwig von ReuterStrength3 battlecruisers8 light cruisers10 destroyers2 battleships4 light cruisers8 destroyers14 minesweepersCasualties and losses22 men killed 43 wounded1 light cruiser damaged21 men killed 40 wounded 22 prisoners of war1 minesweeper sunk1 light cruiser damagedHeligoland Bightclass notpageimage Location of the engagement Contents 1 Background 1 1 British minelaying 1 2 German test trips 2 Prelude 2 1 North Sea operations 2 2 Test trip 17 November 2 3 British plan 3 Battle 4 Aftermath 4 1 Analysis 4 2 Casualties 4 3 Victoria Cross 5 Orders of battle 5 1 British forces 5 2 German forces 6 Notes 7 Footnotes 8 References 9 Further reading 10 External linksBackground editBritish minelaying edit The British used sea mining defensively to protect sea lanes and trade routes and offensively to impede the transit of German submarines and surface ships in the North Sea the danger of which was illustrated on 17 October 1917 by the sortie of the German Brummer class cruisers SMS Brummer and SMS Bremse the action off Lerwick against the Scandinavian Convoy During 1917 six U boats were sunk by British mines and in two years the German minesweeping counter effort suffered the loss about 28 destroyers and 70 minesweepers and other ships 1 The Germans had been forced into minesweeping up to 150 nmi 170 mi 280 km into the Heligoland Bight and in the southern Baltic Sea covered by light cruisers and destroyers with occasional distant support by battleships 1 After the action off Lerwick several proposals for attacks on the German minesweepers and escorts were canvassed at the Admiralty 2 On 31 October the British sent a large force of cruisers and destroyers into the Kattegat which sank Kronprinz Wilhelm an armed merchant ship and nine trawlers 3 4 German test trips edit The prolific British laying of mines and net barrages outside the main German mine belts between Horns Reef and Terschelling close to the bases of the High Seas Fleet Hochseeflotte forced the Kaiserliche Marine into surveying the British minefields to find routes through them for transit into and back from the North Sea Test trips were carried out being substantial operations with ships to find the mines minesweepers torpedo boats usually a continental term for destroyers U boats barrier breakers and light cruisers with air reconnaissance by Zeppelins and seaplanes The Test trips were also protected by battleships on routes known to be free of mines 3 Prelude editNorth Sea operations edit On 20 October the British code breakers of Room 40 part of the Naval Intelligence Division of the Admiralty decrypted orders to the submarine UB 61 to scout to the north of Bergen to find the new route of the Scandinavian Convoy Agent reports from Copenhagen disclosed an imminent German attack by seven light cruisers and 36 destroyers 5 During the week ending 11 November British light cruisers destroyers and a battlecruiser escort conducted an abortive sweep along the fringe of the Heligoland Bight minefields 3 By mid November the Admiralty had obtained enough intelligence to intercept one of the big German minesweeping operations provided that the ships based at Rosyth in Scotland could sail in time The Admiralty decided that an offensive operation should begin on 17 November 2 Test trip 17 November edit nbsp Map showing the location of Borkum in the East Frisian IslandsThe Germans planned a Test trip for 17 November 1917 comprising the 2nd and 6th Auxiliary Mine Sweeper Half Flotillas the 12th and 14th Torpedo Boat Half Flotillas Barrier Breaking Division IV and light cruisers of Scouting Group Division II commanded by Rear Admiral Konteradmiral Ludwig von Reuter from the 6th Mine Sweeper Half Flotilla The Kaiser class battleships SMS Kaiser and SMS Kaiserin from Squadron IV each with ten 12 in 300 mm guns led by Captain Kapitan zur See Kurt Grasshoff in Kaiserin were to act as covering force for the group The battleships were to reach a point west of Heligoland by 7 00 a m while the Test trip group rendezvoused in the Heligoland Bight about half way between Horns Reef and Terschelling With poor weather grounding Zeppelins and making it impossible for light cruisers embark seaplanes after they had alighted on the sea the Test trip relied on reconnaissance patrols by two land based seaplanes from Borkum on the German coast just east of the Netherlands for reconnoitring ahead of the group 6 British plan edit nbsp Diagram showing the Frisian Islands including Terschelling and Borkum bottom left and Sylt in the North Frisian Islands top right both part of the Wedden Sea archipelagoThe German Test trip had been revealed by the code breakers of Room 40 allowing the British to plan an ambush 7 On 16 November orders for an attack on the Test trip were sent to Admiral Sir David Beatty Commander in Chief of the British Grand Fleet On 17 November 1917 a force of cruisers under Vice Admiral Trevylyan Napier was sent to attack the German minesweepers as they were mineweeping 8 Battle editThe action began at 7 30 a m roughly 65 nmi 75 mi 120 km west of Sylt when Courageous sighted German ships She opened fire at 7 37 a m Reuter advanced with four light cruisers and eight destroyers towards the British ship to cover the withdrawal of the minesweepers with all but the trawler Kehdingen 1906 de escaping the British detachment a A stern chase ensued as the German forces making skillful use of smokescreens withdrew south east at their best speed under fire from the 1st Cruiser Squadron the 1st Light Cruiser Squadron and the 6th Light Cruiser Squadron Repulse was detached from the 1st Battle Cruiser Squadron and came up at high speed to join the battle Both sides were hampered in their manoeuvres by the presence of naval minefields At about the same time the light cruisers came under fire from Kaiser and Kaiserin Kaiser class battleships which had come up in support of Reuter s ships Caledon was struck by a 12 0 in 30 5 cm shell which damaged a gun turret shortly afterwards the British ships gave up the chase as they reached the edge of more minefields A shell went through the upper conning tower of the light cruiser Calypso killing the conning tower crew and mortally wounding the Captain Herbert Edwards on the bridge and knocking unconscious the navigator Lieutenant Commander M F F Wilson All personnel on the lower bridge were killed and the gunner officer Lieutenant H C C Clarke took command which was made more difficult because the shell also cut all electrical communications and reduced the rate of fire 9 b The battlecruiser Repulse briefly engaged the German ships at about 10 00 a m achieving a hit on the light cruiser SMS Konigsberg that started a serious fire 10 Aftermath editAnalysis edit nbsp French map of the Battle of Jutland 1916 showing in black the approximate area of German minefields in the North SeaIn 1984 Patrick Beesly wrote that the British operation was daring but that Napier was unjustly blamed for its failure to pursue the German ships with sufficient vigour Room 40 was well informed about the positions of German minefields and the British fields which the Germans were trying to clear The information had been added to Room 40 s naval charts but the information was denied to Napier who made decisions based on the charts he did have Admiralty reluctance to disclose that their information was derived from the decoding of wireless intercepts had led to the naval commander s being ill informed The Admiralty did at least supply operational intelligence to the Naval commanders after Beatty had made an emergency request when he was at sea Napier was informed in ninety minutes by the Admiralty that German capital ships had sailed at 8 30 a m and the location of German cruisers leading to Konigsberg s receiving severe damage At the least Room 40 had prevented the British operation degenerating from fiasco to disaster 7 Casualties edit In 1920 Admiral Reinhard Scheer wrote that the Germans suffered casualties of 21 men killed ten seriously wounded and thirty men slightly wounded 11 An Admiralty communique listed British casualties as one officer and 21 men killed four officers and 39 men wounded 22 prisoners were taken 12 Victoria Cross edit Able Seaman John Carless of Walsall aboard Commodore Cowan s flagship Caledon was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross for his bravery in continuing to load and fire his gun despite receiving mortal shrapnel wounds that opened his abdomen 13 Orders of battle editBritish forces edit nbsp c 1st Cruiser Squadron Vice Admiral Trevylyan Napier CB MVO Courageous flag Capt Arthur Bromley Glorious Capt Charles B Miller CB Attached destroyers 13th Destroyer Flotilla 15 Ursa Cdr John Tovey Nerissa Lt Cdr Montague G B Legge DSO Urchin Lt Cdr Guy P Bowles Umpire Lt Cdr Roger V Alison DSO dd 6th Light Cruiser Squadron Rear Admiral Edwyn Alexander Sinclair CB MVO Cardiff flag Capt Claud H Sinclair Ceres Capt the Hon Herbert Meade DSO Calypso Capt Herbert L Edwards Caradoc Capt William M Kerr Attached destroyers 13th Destroyer Flotilla 15 Valentine flotilla leader Cdr Charles A Fremantle Vimiera Cdr Dashwood F Moir Vanquisher Lt Cdr Kenneth A Beattie Vehement Lt Vernon Hammersley Heenan dd 1st Light Cruiser Squadron Commodore Walter Cowan CB MVO DSO Caledon Cdre Cowan Galatea Capt Charles Forbes DSO Royalist Capt the Hon Mathew R Best MVO DSO Inconstant Capt Francis A Marten Attached destroyers 13th Destroyer Flotilla 15 Vendetta Cdr Charles Ramsey Medway Lt Cdr Charles H Neill James dd 1st Battle Cruiser Squadron detachment Rear Admiral Richard Phillimore CB MVO Repulse flag Capt William Boyle d Other forces at sea in support none of which engaged Battle Cruiser Force Vice Admiral Sir William Pakenham KCB KCVO Lion flag New Zealand Princess Royal Tiger Attached light forces 13th Destroyer Flotilla Champion flotilla cruiser Nepean Obdurate Oriana Petard Telemachus Tower Tristram Verdun dd dd 1st Battle Squadron Admiral Sir Charles MaddenRevenge flag Royal Oak Resolution Emperor of India Benbow Canada Attached destroyers 12th Destroyer Flotilla Saumarez flotilla leader Valhalla flotilla leader Noble Nonsuch Napier Paladin Penn Prince Mischief Munster Narborough dd dd German forces edit nbsp 2nd Scouting Group Konteradmiral Ludwig von Reuter Konigsberg FKpt Karl Feldmann Pillau FKpt Gerhard von Gaudecker Frankfurt FKpt Otto Seidensticker Nurnberg KptzS Walther Hildebrand 7th Torpedo Boat Flotilla KKpt Hermann Cordes e f S62 KptLt Max Fink flotilla leader G87 OLtzS Wolfgang Komorowski 14th half flotilla KptLt Richard Beitzen G92 KptLt Arthur von Killinger half flotilla leader G93 KptLt Georg Reimer V83 Kpt Lt Wedig von Keyserlingk dd 12th half flotilla KKpt Rudolf Lahs V43 OLtzS Victor Narjes half flotilla leader V44 OLtzS Eberhard Kautter V45 KptLt Martin Lassmann dd Minesweepers 6th Minesweeper Half Flotilla 6 Minensuchhalbflottille KptLt d Ottilie M66 M7 A36 T74 M53 M4 M3 M1 dd 4th Auxiliary Minesweeper Half Flotilla 4 Hilfsminensuchhalbflottille KptLt d R Joachim Lowe A63 A68 A69 A74 A41 A52 dd 2nd Auxiliary Minesweeper Half Flotilla KptLt d R Klose fishing vessels dd 6th Auxiliary Minesweeper Half Flotilla KptLt d R Wilke fishing vessels dd 4th Barrier Breaker Group IV Sperrbrechergruppe KptLt d R Hillebrand two vessels dd Group S North Sea Outpost Flotilla LtzS Heinrich Woldag NOarmed trawlers Fritz Reuter and KehdingenGE dd 4th Battle Squadron detachment KptzS Kurt Grasshoff Kaiserin KptzS Kurt Grasshoff Kaiser KptzS Max Loesch Attached torpedo boats anti submarine escort S18 KptLt Wildemann S24 KptLt Paschen dd Other forces at sea in support none of which were engaged Battleships Friedrich der Grosse Konig Albert Battlecruisers Hindenburg MoltkeNotes edit Two of the German destroyers were detached but rejoined during the battle There is some dispute as to whether it was a 15 cm 5 9 in or a 12 0 in 30 5 cm shell which damaged Calypso since she was hit at 9 40 a m before the German battleships opened fire the former is the more likely The principal source for the British order of battle is Newbolt Naval Operations volume V page 168 169 footnote 2 14 Additional organizational details are taken from The Admiralty 1917 Supplement to the Monthly Naval List November 1917 London Harrison and Sons Commanding officers are from The Admiralty 1917 Monthly Navy List November 1917 Repulse which was faster and of shallower draft than the other British battle cruisers was detached to support the 1st Light Cruiser Squadron at about 8 00 a m she came into action around 9 00 a m and achieved a 15 inch hit on Konigsberg at 9 58 a m at the end of the engagement 16 German large torpedo boats grosser torpedoboote were of similar size and function to the destroyers in the Royal Navy and are often referred to as such The principal source for the German order of battle is Gladisch pp 56 57 Commanding officers are from Gladisch Scheer op cit German Wikipedia articles on the cruisers Dave Alton Commanding Officers of German Capital Ships 1914 19 accessed 29 May 2013 and Ehrenrangliste der Kaiserlich Deutschen Marine 1914 18 1930 Konteradmiral a D Albert Stoelzel 17 Footnotes edit a b Beesly 1984 p 268 a b Newbolt 2003 pp 164 165 a b c Harkins 2015 p 32 Halpern 1995 pp 376 377 Newbolt 2003 pp 164 165 Beesly 1984 p 279 Harkins 2015 pp 32 33 a b Beesly 1984 p 280 Halpern 1995 pp 376 377 Newbolt 2003 p 175 Newbolt 1931 pp 175 176 Burt 1986 p 302 Scheer 1920 p 308 Harkins 2015 pp 38 39 Carless John Henry Commonwealth War Graves Commission Newbolt 1931 pp 168 169 a b c Harkins 2015 p 42 Newbolt 2003 p 176 Stoelzel 1930 References editBeesly P 1984 1982 Room 40 British Naval Intelligence 1914 1918 repr Oxford University Press ed London Hamish Hamilton ISBN 978 0 19 281468 5 Burt R A 1986 British Battleships of World War One Annapolis MD Naval Institute Press ISBN 978 0 87021 863 7 Halpern P G 1995 1994 A Naval History of World War I pbk UCL Press London ed Annapolis Naval Institute Press ISBN 1 85728 498 4 Harkins H 2015 Light Battle Cruisers and the Second Battle of the Heligoland Bight Lord Fisher s Oddities Glasgow Centurion Publishing ISBN 978 1 903630 52 5 Newbolt H J 1931 Naval Operations History of the Great War Based on Official Documents by Direction of the Historical Section of the Committee of Imperial Defence Vol V 1st ed London Longmans Green amp Co OCLC 220475309 Newbolt H J 2003 1931 Naval Operations with accompanying map case History of the Great War Based on Official Documents by Direction of the Historical Section of the Committee of Imperial Defence Vol V 2nd facs repr Naval amp Military Press and Imperial War Museum ed London Longmans Green amp Co ISBN 978 1 84342 493 2 Retrieved 11 November 2020 via Archive Foundation Scheer R 1920 Germany s High Sea Fleet in the World War Eng trans ed London Cassell pp 304 309 OCLC 495246260 Retrieved 11 November 2020 via Archive Foundation Stoelzel Albert 1930 Ehrenrangliste der Kaiserlich Deutschen Marine 1914 18 Honor Rank List of the Imperial German Navy 1914 18 Berlin Marine Offizier Verband OCLC 62432982 Further reading editGoldrick J 2018 After Jutland The Naval War in Northern European Waters June 1916 November 1918 ePub ed Annapolis MD Naval Institute Press ISBN 978 1 68247 328 3 Hurd A S 2003 1929 The Merchant Navy History of the Great War Based on Official Documents by Direction of the Historical Section of the Committee of Imperial Defence Vol III facs repr Imperial War Museum Department of Printed Books and Naval amp Military Press Uckfield ed London John Murray ISBN 978 1 84342 567 0 Marder A J 1969 From the Dreadnought to Scapa Flow The Royal Navy in the Fisher Era 1904 1919 1917 Year of Crisis Vol IV London Oxford University Press OCLC 1072069754 Massie Robert K 2003 Castles of Steel Britain Germany and the Winning of the Great War at Sea London Pimlico ISBN 978 1 84413 411 3 O Hara V Dickson W David Worth R eds 2013 To Crown the Waves The Great Navies of the First World War Annapolis MD Naval Institute Press ISBN 978 1 61251 269 3 External links edit nbsp Media related to Battle of Heligoland Bight 1917 at Wikimedia Commons Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Second Battle of Heligoland Bight amp oldid 1170321570, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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