Battlecruisers at Jutland: role versus misuse

Did the battlecruiser concept fail at Jutland and in the Second World War?

Losses in a fleet action do not settle whether battlecruisers succeeded in their intended roles. The criticism also confuses Renown with Repulse and compresses the timing of the Jutland losses.

The criticism combines Jutland losses, Hood's loss, and a Japanese air attack as evidence against the battlecruiser concept. Two details are challenged: Repulse was sunk by Japanese aircraft in 1941, and the Jutland engagement had lasted longer than the stated fifteen minutes when some of the losses occurred. Success in the ships' intended roles has to be considered alongside their vulnerability against a battle fleet. Most British battlecruisers had been designed for other work, even though contemporary doctrine did give them a place in the battle line. Judging the concept therefore involves both original design purpose and the ways commanders employed the ships.