During Scheer's second approach to Jellicoe's deployed line, HMS Shark is left fighting four German torpedo boats. The destroyer continues the action despite being isolated and overmatched, and she is eventually torpedoed and sunk by S54. Captain Loftus Jones receives the Victoria Cross for persisting in the fight. Shark shows that the Royal Navy's aggressive destroyer culture at Jutland was already well established. The service preserved that ethos through the interwar years.
Notable Point · 2:30:19-2:31:28
Shark fights four German torpedo boats
Shark's isolated fight against four German torpedo boats earns Loftus Jones the Victoria Cross and illustrates the navy's aggressive destroyer ethos.