The Fourth Destroyer Flotilla met the van of the German High Seas Fleet in darkness. HMS Spitfire returned toward the disabled Tipperary, evaded an attempted ramming by Nassau, and collided side-to-side with the battleship. The impact tore 60 feet of plating from Spitfire's port side, while about 20 feet of Nassau's armour ended up on the destroyer's deck. Nassau's main guns could not depress enough to hit Spitfire, although their muzzle blast stripped fittings and damaged her upperworks. The absent British battleships may have spared both fleets an even more destructive melee, since capital ships would have entered the same visibility-limited range with greater collision and friendly-fire risks. The wider sequence of collisions, torpedo attacks, and lost ships gave the Royal Navy a vivid warning without yet providing a mature method for commanding a night action.
Chapter · 18:55-29:08
Jutland's destroyer night action and HMS Spitfire
The Fourth Destroyer Flotilla's encounter with the High Seas Fleet shows how night combat could become collision, confusion, and close-range destruction.