A Princess Royal hit started ammunition fires and damaged Blücher's boiler rooms, cutting the German cruiser's speed to about 17 knots while the action was running near 27 knots. Lion was even slower after fourteen hits, managing only about 15 knots. Beatty nevertheless ordered Indomitable, which he regarded as his slowest battlecruiser, to intercept Blücher. Given Lion's gun range, the damaged flagship could probably still have contained the crippled ship while the faster British battlecruisers continued after Hipper. The order therefore diverted useful combat power from the more valuable operational objective.
Notable Point · 45:36-47:06
Blücher's damage exposes a confused interception order
With Blücher reduced to about 17 knots and Lion even slower, Beatty diverted Indomitable to intercept the crippled German cruiser.