The 2nd Battlecruiser Squadron was a Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

 squadron of battlecruiser

Battlecruiser

Battlecruisers were large capital ships built in the first half of the 20th century. They were developed in the first decade of the century as the successor to the armoured cruiser, but their evolution was more closely linked to that of the dreadnought battleship...

s that saw service as part of the Grand Fleet during the First World War

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

.

August 1914

In August 1914, the 2nd Battlecruiser Squadron was in the Mediterranean, and consisted of:

1915

On 15 January 1915, became flagship of the 2nd BCS. She was replaced as flagship by the Australian

Royal Australian Navy

The Royal Australian Navy is the naval branch of the Australian Defence Force. Following the Federation of Australia in 1901, the ships and resources of the separate colonial navies were integrated into a national force: the Commonwealth Naval Forces...

 battlecruiser on 8 February 1915.

With the transfer of HMS Inflexible and Indomitable to the newly created 3rd Battlecruiser Squadron

3rd Battlecruiser Squadron (United Kingdom)

The 3rd Battlecruiser Squadron was a short-lived Royal Navy squadron of battlecruisers that saw service as part of the Grand Fleet during the First World War.-Creation:...

 during 1915, the squadron was left with three ships, namely HMS New Zealand and Indefatigable, and HMAS Australia.

Battle of Jutland

HMAS Australia was damaged in collision with HMS New Zealand on 22 April 1916, and did not participate in the Battle of Jutland

Battle of Jutland

The Battle of Jutland was a naval battle between the British Royal Navy's Grand Fleet and the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet during the First World War. The battle was fought on 31 May and 1 June 1916 in the North Sea near Jutland, Denmark. It was the largest naval battle and the only...

 on 31 May 1916. The 2nd BCS therefore consisted of:

• HMS New Zealand Flagship of Rear Admiral W. C. Pakenham
  William Christopher Pakenham
  Admiral Sir William Christopher Pakenham, KCB, KCMG, KCVO was a British observer with the Imperial Japanese Navy during the Russo-Japanese War, during World War I he commanded the 2nd Battle Cruiser Squadron during the Battle of Jutland, and from December 1916 was Commander-in-Chief of the Battle...
  
  ; Captain J. F. E. Green
  John Green (Royal Navy officer)
  John Green CB became Chaplain of the Fleet; Director General, Naval Chaplaincy Service and Archdeacon for the Royal Navy in March 2006.He was born on 14 August 1953 and educated at North East London Polytechnic. From 1974 to 1980 he was a Project Engineer with Thorn Lighting Ltd...
  
  
• HMS Indefatigable Captain C. F. Sowerby

HMS New Zealand sustained light damage during the engagement; however, HMS Indefatigable was sunk by the German

Kaiserliche Marine

The Imperial German Navy was the German Navy created at the time of the formation of the German Empire. It existed between 1871 and 1919, growing out of the small Prussian Navy and Norddeutsche Bundesmarine, which primarily had the mission of coastal defense. Kaiser Wilhelm II greatly expanded...

battlecruiser .

After Jutland

With the loss of several battlecruisers at Jutland, the Royal Navy reverted to two Battlecruiser squadrons. For the remainder of the war, the squadron comprised:

• HMAS Australia
• HMS New Zealand
• HMS Inflexible
• HMS Indomitable