Scheer's force might have overwhelmed the Queen Elizabeth-class ships if it caught them, but sinking them would have required time and probably heavy German losses. Gunnery direction, ranging, and fire control in 1916 were not yet capable of producing the faster, more reliable destruction seen with later systems. Fire control was widely blamed for aspects of Jutland's inconclusive result, driving major investment and rapid improvement by 1918. Better equipment could refine fleet performance, but it could not rescue a pursuit plan built around catching faster ships from astern.
Notable Point · 1:08:35-1:09:50
Jutland accelerated fire-control investment
The difficulty of destroying fast, heavily built ships helped make fire control one of the battle's major postwar lessons.