Battle of Jutland SMS König

maps showing maneuvers of british (blue) , german (red) fleets on 31 may – 1 june 1916

könig present during fleet operation resulted in battle of jutland took place on 31 may , 1 june 1916. german fleet again sought draw out , isolate portion of grand fleet , destroy before main british fleet retaliate. könig, followed sisters grosser kurfürst, markgraf, , kronprinz, made v division of iii battle squadron, , vanguard of fleet. iii battle squadron first of 3 battleship units; directly astern kaiser-class battleships of vi division, iii battle squadron. directly astern of kaiser-class ships helgoland , nassau classes of ii battle squadron; in rear guard obsolescent deutschland-class pre-dreadnoughts of i battle squadron.

shortly before 16:00 cet, battlecruisers of scouting group encountered british 1st battlecruiser squadron under command of david beatty. opposing ships began artillery duel saw destruction of indefatigable, shortly after 17:00, , queen mary, less half hour later. time, german battlecruisers steaming south draw british ships toward main body of high seas fleet. @ 17:30, könig s crew spotted both i scouting group , 1st battlecruiser squadron approaching. german battlecruisers steaming starboard, while british ships steamed port. @ 17:45, scheer ordered two-point turn port bring ships closer british battlecruisers, , minute later @ 17:46, order open fire given.

könig, grosser kurfürst, , markgraf first reach effective gunnery range; engaged battlecruisers lion, princess royal, , tiger, respectively, @ range of 21,000 yards. könig s first salvos fell short of target, , shifted fire nearer tiger. simultaneously, könig , sisters began firing on destroyers nestor , nicator secondary battery. 2 destroyers closed in on german line, , after having endured hail of gunfire, maneuvered firing position. each ship launched 2 torpedoes apiece @ könig , grosser kurfürst, although 4 weapons missed. in return, secondary battery shell 1 of battleships hit nestor , wrecked engine room. ship, along destroyer nomad, crippled , lying directly in path of advancing german line. both of destroyers sunk, , german torpedo boats stopped pick survivors. @ around 18:00, könig , 3 sister ships shifted fire approaching queen elizabeth-class battleships of v battle squadron. könig engaged barham until ship out of range, shifted valiant. however, faster british battleships able move out of effective gunnery range quickly.

shortly after 19:00, german cruiser wiesbaden had become disabled shell british battlecruiser invincible; rear admiral paul behncke in könig attempted maneuver 4 ships cover stricken cruiser. simultaneously, british iii , iv light cruiser squadrons began torpedo attack on german line; while advancing torpedo range, smothered wiesbaden fire main guns. könig , sisters fired heavily on british cruisers, sustained fire battleships main guns failed drive off british cruisers. in ensuing melee, british armored cruiser defence struck several heavy caliber shells german dreadnoughts. 1 salvo penetrated ship s ammunition magazines and, in massive explosion, destroyed cruiser.

recognition drawing of sms könig prepared royal navy

shortly after 19:20, könig again entered gunnery range of battleship warspite , opened fire on target. joined dreadnoughts friedrich der grosse, ostfriesland, helgoland, , thüringen. however, könig rapidly lost sight of warspite, had been in process of turning east-northeast. simultaneously, british light cruisers , destroyers attempted make torpedo attack against leading ships of german line, including könig. shortly thereafter, main british line came range of german fleet; @ 19:30 british battleships opened fire on both german battlecruiser force , könig-class ships. könig came under heavy fire during period. in span of 5 minutes, iron duke fired 9 salvos @ könig range of 12,000 yards; 1 shell hit ship. 13.5-inch shell struck forward conning tower instead of penetrating, shell ricocheted off , detonated 50 yards past ship. rear admiral behncke injured, though remained in command of ship. ship obscured smoke granted temporary reprieve.

by 20:00, german line ordered turn westward disengage british fleet. könig, @ head, completed turn , reduced speed allow vessels behind return formation. shortly thereafter, 4 british light cruisers resumed attacks on crippled wiesbaden; leading german battleships, including könig, opened fire on cruisers in attempt drive them off. pursuing british battleships had time turned further south , managed cross t of german line. rectify situation, admiral scheer ordered 16-point turn south , sent hipper s battlecruisers on charge toward british fleet. during turn, könig struck 13.5-inch shell iron duke; shell hit ship aft of rearmost gun turret. könig suffered significant structural damage, , several rooms filled smoke. during turn starboard, vice admiral schmidt, commander of i battle squadron, decided turn ships immediately, instead of following leading ships in succession. caused great deal of confusion, , resulted in several collisions. result, many of german battleships forced drastically reduce speed, put entire fleet in great danger. in attempt mitigate predicament, könig turned port , laid smokescreen between german , british lines.

during battle, könig suffered significant damage. heavy shell penetrated main armored deck toward bow. shell hit armored bulkhead @ corner , shoved 5 feet, breaking off large piece armor plate in process. shell splinters hit penetrated several of casemates held 15 cm secondary guns, 2 of disabled. ammunition stores these 2 guns set on fire , magazines had flooded prevent explosion. ship nevertheless remained combat effective, primary battery remained in operation, did of secondary guns; könig steam @ close maximum speed. other areas of ship had counter-flooded maintain stability; 1,600 tons of water entered ship, either result of battle damage or counter-flooding efforts. flooding rendered battleship sufficiently low in water prevent ship being able cross amrum bank until 09:30 on 1 june. könig taken kiel initial repairs, location had floating dry dock large enough fit ship. repairs conducted there 4 18 june, @ point ship transferred howaldtswerke shipyard. könig again ready join fleet 21 july. in course of battle, suffered 45 men killed , 27 wounded, highest tally surviving battleship in german fleet.

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