Page "David Beatty, 1st Earl Beatty" Paragraph 34

Jutland proved to be decisive in Beatty's career, despite the loss of two of his battlecruisers.

Beatty is reported to have remarked ( to his Flag Captain, Chatfield, later First Sea Lord in the early 1930s ), " there seems to be something wrong with our bloody ships today ," after two of them had exploded within half an hour during the battle.

One theory is that this was caused by a design fault in the ammunition loading system to the main gun turrets, so that an enemy hit on the turret set off an explosion in the magazine, thus sinking the ship.

Churchill's account of the First World War, The World Crisis, describes Beatty's next order as, " Steer two points nearer the enemy.

" His next order was to turn away by two points, and, in any case, a few minutes later he reversed his fleet's course to fulfill its anticipated role of leading the German forces towards the main British fleet.