A badly damaged First Scouting Group would leave Germany with fewer options for drawing part of the Royal Navy into an unfavorable engagement. The German battlecruisers supplied the fast force that could attempt such an operation and still escape. British ships tending toward slightly higher speeds made that margin especially important. Losing much of the scouting group would therefore make the High Seas Fleet more reluctant to leave harbor, strengthening the case for British aircraft that could attack it there. The Courageous hulls also offered good speed, although their small-tube Yarrow boilers demanded more maintenance.
Notable Point · 53:09-54:09
Scouting-group losses would make a German sortie harder
Losing fast battlecruisers would reduce Germany's options for isolating British ships and escaping after an attack.