THE TIGER IN ACTION

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2837, 31 July 1916, Page 4

A GIJHLAYER'S STORY OF THE BATTLE HOW THE QUEEN MARY WENT DOWN A Press Association correspondent was able to interview one of the gunlayers of K.M.S. Tiger, of the British battlecruiser squadron, after the great battle of Horn Heel'. Having rotated how smoke was first sighted on the horizon, ho praised the methodical manner in which the men look up "action quarters." No iono appeared to realise what was- happening till then. The Lion, which was loading (he Hue, followed by' the Tiger, Princess lloyal, and Queen Mary, was the. first to oneii fire, the range being about 18,000 yards, and common shell being used. Hangeflnding continued for a few minutes, neither squadron at.Mirst doing what might do-called really good shooting. Then it could lie seen Hint each of'lhe British battle-cruisers had commenced business ;n earnest. Control firing was adopted, the. speed of each salvo being remarkable. The Germans, too, began to set tho range as the vessels drew towards each other, and a particularly lucky shot cut away the Indefatigable'*; fire-control. About four o'clock every' man in the British battle-cruiser squadron, each -vessel of which had been singling, out an opposing ship, realised that the Germans had not only a preponderance of gun*, but more than double the number of ships. Concentration on the Lion. Tho Germans soon commenced concentrated fire, and every gun of the squadron was turned on the. Lion, but hardly a shell hit her. Two asphyxiating projectiles fell on her upper deck behind tho bridge, but the majority fell short, sending up terrific volumes if water. The two squadrons approached w.ck other for twenty minutes, and then the enemy suddenly bore away to port, tiirn-.'.ig completely, as if they were b.-a-ikiijr off the action. We turned as well, and manoeuvring contin led for lifreen minutes, when the German squadron again came ahead, their guns now hdirg concentrated on tho Queen Mary. They had been poking about for range for some minutes without elfoct wi.en cuddculv a most reciarkablo thing happened. Every shell that the Gormans threw seemed suddenly to strike the battlecruiser at once. It was as if a whirlwind was smashing a forest down.- Tho ship seemed to roll slowly to starboard, ■with lier mast and funnels gone, and with a huge hole in her side. She listed again, the hole disappeared beneath the water, which rushed into her and turned her completely over. A minute' and a half, and. all that could be seen of the ■Queen Mary was her keel, which then-, disappeared. •. Submarines "Popping Up Everywhere." We were engaged by two battleships at 10.000 yards, in addition to some halfdozen submarines, which were poppin» up everywhere. The loss of one "submarine is given out, but I know that two 'werei sunk within ten minutes of the loss of the Queen Mary,,;one of our battleships that had come up ramming one, while the New Zealand blew another to pieces with her quick-firers.. A remarkable sftange took place oh the nirival of tho Valiant, with the Barham and the TVarspite, which had been engaged with two battle-cruisers somewhere astern. One of the latter sank earlier in the nfternoon. Thoy ■ concentrated tlieirv fire on the end vessel of. the Gorman line. It may seem incredible, but in two minutes the vessel had almost disappeared, only dense clouds of smoke and steam marking tho spot where she had, been. She was a three-funnelled battle-cruiser, which had put a lucky shot right through the Barham two minuses after she had opened fire. But the tiarham had her own back, for that was not trie only ship she sank.

Battleship "Crumpled Up" at 4000 Yards. _A sight I shall never'forget'was that ol a great vessel lying helpless on the sen with her engines out of action. She continued to fire with" -deadly effect, evidently by control, so methodical were the salvos, till the Barhara and Valiant opened fire on her at 4000 yards, bhq literally crumpled up. Not long after she had disappeared re wor P by about fifteen destroyers. Ihey camo in nrc formation, but our secondary armament sank three, tlio shooting of our gunners being magnificent. p„o thing was proved in the light (added the gun-layer), namely, the undoubted superiority of the British gunnery. Gun for gun we were absolutely superior, and I only wish they had stuck jt Tor another hour. They would then have known what 15-inch guns can do."