Battle of Jutland
 

I've heard Jutland referred as the last great battleship battle, but have also heard the Battle of Surigao Strait during Leyte gulf as the last great battleship battle. Any clarity on this conflict?

Well the Jutland would be the one for having all its combat action involving surface combatants.

Surigao Strait was part of a larger battle that included carriers and subs etc.

So it comes down to an authors preference.


BTW: Amaze your friends with trivia, when was the last ship sunk by a battleship in war?

Answer: February 7th 1991. USS Wisconsin sank 15 Iraqi boats while shelling the Khawr al-Mufattah marina.

The Battle of Jutland Jutland saw combat between 44 dreadnoughts, 20 battlecruisers and pre-dreadnoughts and nearly 200 other surface combatants. Meanwhile, Surigao Strait saw combat between 8 battleships, 51 other warships and a bunch of PT boats; it was really more of a one-sided slaughter than a battle too. The latter action is the last battle between battleships, but which of them is the last 'great battleship battle' depends on what your definition of a 'great battle' is.

I think the term "great" in this particular reference, (I'll have to dig up the book, I have it somewhere in here with all my other naval history) was talking about the entirety of Leyte Gulf maybe. But, that makes sense now, Jutland being the last great surface clash with the advent of the carrier and 360 degrees of naval warfare in WWII.

It all depends on how you define "great" and how you define "action". Both qualify for the title "last great battleship action", but for different reasons.

At Jutland the British had 28 battleships, 9 battlecruisers, 8 armored cruisers, 26 light cruisers and 79 destroyers. The Germans had 22 battleships, 5 battlecruisers, 11 light cruisers and 61 destroyers.

At Surigao Strait the Americans had 6 battleships, 4 heavy cruisers, 4 light cruisers, 28 destroyers and 39 PT boats. The Japanese had 2 battleships, 3 heavy cruisers, 1 light cruiser and 8 destroyers.

For sheer size there is no comparison. Jutland was truly "great". On the other hand action was sporadic and inconclusive, and there was no toe-to-toe duking it out between battle lines.

Surigao was less a battle than a slaughter, but it was a "great" action in that it showed just how effective night fire could be when guided by radar. The Americans fired at Yamashiro from 22,800 yards, a range at which the Japanese could not return fire. It was also the last time a battleship ever fired its guns at another battleship.

Thought I'd throw this in-read this book on Jutland:

http://www.amazon.com/Jutland-1916-C...ywords=jutland

Awsome book :yeah:, full of eyewitness accounts from both sides. My first real WWI history book.

:)

My twisted brain much prefers books like this one:
http://www.amazon.com/Jutland-Analys...f+the+fighting

But be warned: You won't like it unless you love knowing exactly where each shell hit, exactly how far it penetrated and exactly what damage was done.

My dad has that book and allowed me to borrow it. Yup, it is only for the hard-core Jutland analyst. :yep: