Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Q&A · 2:26:44-2:29:18

Could Queen Elizabeth fight at Dogger Bank?

A deployment answer separates ship readiness from the command problem of assigning the Grand Fleet's fast battleships to Beatty.

Battle Of Dogger Bank 1915BattlecruisersFleet CommandGrand FleetQueen Elizabeth Class Battleships
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Question

If Queen Elizabeth were fast enough, could she have deployed to Dogger Bank in January 1915?

Short answer

She was commissioned in time and might have participated before fully working up, but Beatty was unlikely to receive her permanently because the Grand Fleet required its own fast wing.

Notes

Queen Elizabeth entered commission in December 1914, one month before Dogger Bank, so a sufficiently fast ship could conceivably have joined despite incomplete work-up. The stronger obstacle was command allocation. Beatty's earlier arguments had demonstrated the Grand Fleet's need for its own fast wing, making it difficult for him to take the new battleships away except during temporary rotations.