Iron Duke fires on König with 13.5-inch guns, but one shell ricochets from the forward conning tower and another bursts on contact near the after turret. Other heavy hits cause damage without producing the intended internal explosion. König takes about 1,600 tons of water yet remains combat effective. The counterfactual replaces Iron Duke with Queen Elizabeth as Jellicoe's flagship, adding 15-inch shells that have passed effective trials. Under those assumptions, König is expected to be destroyed rather than survive the engagement.
Notable Point · 2:24:00-2:26:32
König faces effective shells from a different flagship
König survives several damaging British hits historically; the proposed Queen Elizabeth flagship combines a larger shell with reliable penetration and detonation.