The 3rd Battlecruiser Squadron was a short-lived

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...

squadron of

battlecruisers The battlecruiser (also written as battle cruiser or battle-cruiser) was a type of capital ship of the first half of the 20th century. These were similar in displacement, armament and cost to battleships, but differed in form and balance of attr ...

that saw service as part of the

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during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fig ...

Creation

HMS Invincible (1907) British Battleship

The 3rd Battlecruiser Squadron was created in 1915, with the return to home waters of two of the three s— and —following the

Battle of the Falkland Islands The Battle of the Falkland Islands was a First World War naval action between the British Royal Navy and Imperial German Navy on 8 December 1914 in the South Atlantic. The British, after their defeat at the Battle of Coronel on 1 November, se ...

and the

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operation. They were joined by their

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, and, under the command of Rear Admiral Sir Horace Hood, the squadron was based at

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, Scotland.

Battle of Jutland

* ''Invincible'' - flagship of Rear Admiral the Honourable H. L. A. Hood; Captain A. L. Cay * ''Inflexible'' - Captain E. H. F. Heaton-Ellis * ''Indomitable'' - Captain F. W. Kennedy On 31 May 1916, the squadron—attached to the

rather than David Beatty's Battlecruiser Fleet—participated in the

Battle of Jutland The Battle of Jutland (german: Skagerrakschlacht, the Battle of the Skagerrak) was a naval battle fought between Britain's Royal Navy Grand Fleet, under Admiral Sir John Jellicoe, and the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet, under Vic ...

. During the battle, ''Invincible'' was hit in her "Q" turret by a salvo from the

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battlecruiser , causing a massive explosion. The ship broke in two and sank with the loss of all but six of her crew of 1,021. Admiral Hood was among the dead.

After Jutland

With the loss of ''Invincible'' and several other battlecruisers at Jutland, the squadron was no longer required. ''Indomitable'' and ''Inflexible'' were transferred to the

2nd Battlecruiser Squadron The 2nd Battlecruiser Squadron was a Royal Navy squadron of battlecruisers that saw service as part of the Grand Fleet during the World War I, First World War. August 1914 In August 1914, the 2nd Battlecruiser Squadron was in the Mediterranean, ...

in June 1916.

Rear-Admirals commanding

Post holders included:

References

Sources

* *

External links

{{Battle Cruiser squadrons of the Royal Navy, state=collapsed Battlecruiser squadrons of the Royal Navy Military units and formations of the Royal Navy in World War I