DETAILS OF NAVAL DESIGN FROM JUTLAND. 67 
Almost throughout the whole battle, certainly during the day fighting and, in particu- 
lar, when the British battle cruisers and the 5th Battle Squadron were engaging the German 
fleet, every ship was going at top speed. In fact, speeds that had never been reached on trial 
were considerably exceeded, as, for example, the light cruiser Chester worked up to 28 knots 
when her best speed on trial had been 26% knots. In addition to this high speed, the ships 
did a great deal of maneuvering. This came about through ordinary changes in course for 
tactical reasons, through very sudden changes in course, to avoid either an approaching 
torpedo or the salvos of a pursuing ship, and in some cases to avoid running down another 
ship when congestion occurred as during the deployment of the Grand Fleet. 
It is easy to understand at once what enormously heavy duty these conditions brought 
upon the steering gear and why breakdowns resulted. The best known of the breakdowns, 
and the most serious, occurred in the Warspite which, at the time of the 5th Battle Squad- 
ron’s joining the Grand Fleet, jammed her helm at 15° port and as a consequence made two 
complete circles toward the enemy, meanwhile being under the fire of almost the whole 
German fleet. The steering engine in use was finally disconnected and the other engine 
connected up, but again the ship could not be steered, and it was finally found that the re- 
serve engine had been thrown in with the rudder at 15° port instead of amidships. 
Other cases of jammed steering gear occurred on the Invincible and Chester. The for- 
mer, in joining in the battle with her squadron, was obliged to dodge torpedoes, and the 
helm suddenly jammed at hard-over so that the ship made a complete circle, but fortunately 
without ill effect. The Chester, a light cruiser, came under the fire of a whole squadron of 
German light cruisers, and in escaping from their salvos was obliged to zigzag at high 
speed. While so doing her helm jammed hard aport, but luckily for the ship the gear was 
cleared almost at once. 
Of these steering-gear jams the only one of which we have the probable details is in 
the case of the Warspite. In that ship both steering engines were secured on a vertical 
bulkhead in the engine room, and, as far as could be told, the bulkhead was strained by the 
bursting of a shell in the vicinity. The result was to throw the engine out of line and cause 
it to labor and run hot. When the order was then given suddenly to put the helm over, 
the engine could not handle the sudden load and the jam followed. Of the mishaps on the 
Invincible and Chester we have no details, but it may be inferred that they were due en- 
tirely to the excessive speed and sudden changes of course. 
These accidents bring forward the great importance of the steering gear and primarily 
the fact that trial and test conditions are not those of trial alone, but the very conditions which 
will be met with and quite possibly surpassed in battle. To avoid similar mishaps in the 
future the gear must first of all be so located as to be as free from the surrounding struc- 
ture as possible, so that damage to that structure may not be communicated to the founda- 
tions of the gear. Also in the design there must be no weak points, while the operation must 
be as simple as possible to prevent mistakes in connecting up or disconnecting in the excite- 
ment of battle. Finally and most important, the trial condition tests must be accepted as 
the ordinary working condition of battle. 
To speak of turrets may be approaching very closely to major points of design which 
it was not intended to touch. Nevertheless, the accounts of the battle bring up so many inter- 
esting points to do with damage to turrets, and particularly their great powers of resistance 
against attack and their ability to keep going in spite of damage, that they cannot be passed 
without mention at least. 
