On 23 January 1915, a force of German battlecruisers under the command of Admiral Franz von Hipper sortied to clear the Dogger Bank of any British vessels that might be collecting intelligence on German movements.
The British were reading the German coded messages, and a large battlecruiser force under Admiral Beatty – aboard Lion – sailed to intercept.
Contact was initiated at 07:20 on the 24th, when the British light cruiser Arethusa spotted the German light cruiser Kolberg.
By 07:35, the Germans had seen Beatty's force; Hipper – aboard Seydlitz – ordered his ships south at 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph), thinking he could outpace any British battleships, and could increase to Blücher's maximum speed of 23 knots (43 km/h; 26 mph) if the pursuing ships were battlecruisers.

Beatty ordered his battlecruisers to catch the Germans before they could escape.
The leading ships – Lion, Princess Royal and Tiger – pursued at 27 knots (50 km/h; 31 mph), and Lion opened fire at 08:52 at a range of 20,000 yards (18,000 m).
The other ships followed a few minutes later, but the extreme range and decreasing visibility meant they did not start scoring hits until 09:09.
The German battlecruisers opened fire two minutes later at a range of 18,000 yards (16,000 m) and concentrated their fire on Lion, hitting her once.
At 09:35, Beatty signalled to "engage the corresponding ships in the enemy's line", but Tiger's captain – believing that Indomitable was already engaging Blücher – joined Lion in attacking Seydlitz, which left Moltke unengaged and able to fire on Lion without risk.
Moltke and Derfflinger combined their fire to badly damage Lion over the next hour, even with Princess Royal attacking Derfflinger.

Meanwhile, Blücher had been heavily damaged; her speed had dropped to 17 knots (31 km/h; 20 mph), and her steering gear was jammed.
Beatty ordered Indomitable to attack her at 10:48.
Six minutes later, he spotted what he thought was a submarine periscope on the starboard bow and ordered an immediate 90° turn to port to avoid the submarine, although the submarine warning flag was not raised because most of Lion's signal halyards had been shot away.
Soon afterward, Lion lost her remaining dynamo to the rising water, which knocked out all remaining light and power.
At 11:02, Beatty had flags hoisted signalling "course north-east", to bring his ships back to their pursuit of Hipper, and "attack the rear of the enemy".
Rear-Admiral Sir Gordon Moore – temporarily commanding the squadron from New Zealand – thought the signals meant to attack Blücher, which was about 8,000 yards (7,300 m) to the north-east, and ordered the four other battlecruisers away from the pursuit of Hipper's main force to engage.
Beatty tried to correct the mistake, but he was so far behind the leading battlecruisers that his signals could not be read in the smoke and haze.

Beatty transferred to the destroyer Attack at 11:50 and set off in pursuit of his battlecruisers, reaching them shortly before Blücher sank.
He boarded Princess Royal at 12:20 and ordered the ships to pursue the main German force.
This order was rescinded when it became clear that the time wasted in sinking Blücher meant the rest of Hipper's battlecruisers would reach friendly waters before they could be caught.
Beatty's battlecruisers turned for home, catching up to Lion, which was limping along at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph).

Princess Royal hit Derfflinger once, but only damaged two armour plates and caused a coal bunker to flood.
She hit Blücher at least twice, including the shot that crippled her, out of a total of 271 13.5-inch (343 mm) shells fired during the battle, a hit rate of only 0.7%.
By way of contrast, her sister Lion made four hits out of 243 shells fired, a rate of 1.6%.
She also fired two 13.5-inch shrapnel shells at the German airship L5 as its crew attempted to bomb the sinking Blücher, mistaking it for a British ship, despite the fact that the maximum elevation of those guns was only 20°.
Princess Royal was not damaged during the battle.
On 23 January 1915, a force of German battlecruisers under the command of Admiral Franz von Hipper sortied to clear the Dogger Bank of any British vessels that might be collecting intelligence on German movements. The British were reading the German coded messages, and a large battlecruiser force under Admiral Beatty – aboard Lion – sailed to intercept. Contact was initiated at 07:20 on the 24th, when the British light cruiser Arethusa spotted the German light cruiser Kolberg. By 07:35, the Germans had seen Beatty's force; Hipper – aboard Seydlitz – ordered his ships south at 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph), thinking he could outpace any British battleships, and could increase to Blücher's maximum speed of 23 knots (43 km/h; 26 mph) if the pursuing ships were battlecruisers.
Beatty ordered his battlecruisers to catch the Germans before they could escape. The leading ships – Lion, Princess Royal and Tiger – pursued at 27 knots (50 km/h; 31 mph), and Lion opened fire at 08:52 at a range of 20,000 yards (18,000 m). The other ships followed a few minutes later, but the extreme range and decreasing visibility meant they did not start scoring hits until 09:09. The German battlecruisers opened fire two minutes later at a range of 18,000 yards (16,000 m) and concentrated their fire on Lion, hitting her once. At 09:35, Beatty signalled to "engage the corresponding ships in the enemy's line", but Tiger's captain – believing that Indomitable was already engaging Blücher – joined Lion in attacking Seydlitz, which left Moltke unengaged and able to fire on Lion without risk. Moltke and Derfflinger combined their fire to badly damage Lion over the next hour, even with Princess Royal attacking Derfflinger.
Meanwhile, Blücher had been heavily damaged; her speed had dropped to 17 knots (31 km/h; 20 mph), and her steering gear was jammed. Beatty ordered Indomitable to attack her at 10:48. Six minutes later, he spotted what he thought was a submarine periscope on the starboard bow and ordered an immediate 90° turn to port to avoid the submarine, although the submarine warning flag was not raised because most of Lion's signal halyards had been shot away. Soon afterward, Lion lost her remaining dynamo to the rising water, which knocked out all remaining light and power. At 11:02, Beatty had flags hoisted signalling "course north-east", to bring his ships back to their pursuit of Hipper, and "attack the rear of the enemy". Rear-Admiral Sir Gordon Moore – temporarily commanding the squadron from New Zealand – thought the signals meant to attack Blücher, which was about 8,000 yards (7,300 m) to the north-east, and ordered the four other battlecruisers away from the pursuit of Hipper's main force to engage. Beatty tried to correct the mistake, but he was so far behind the leading battlecruisers that his signals could not be read in the smoke and haze.
Beatty transferred to the destroyer Attack at 11:50 and set off in pursuit of his battlecruisers, reaching them shortly before Blücher sank. He boarded Princess Royal at 12:20 and ordered the ships to pursue the main German force. This order was rescinded when it became clear that the time wasted in sinking Blücher meant the rest of Hipper's battlecruisers would reach friendly waters before they could be caught. Beatty's battlecruisers turned for home, catching up to Lion, which was limping along at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph).
Princess Royal hit Derfflinger once, but only damaged two armour plates and caused a coal bunker to flood. She hit Blücher at least twice, including the shot that crippled her, out of a total of 271 13.5-inch (343 mm) shells fired during the battle, a hit rate of only 0.7%. By way of contrast, her sister Lion made four hits out of 243 shells fired, a rate of 1.6%. She also fired two 13.5-inch shrapnel shells at the German airship L5 as its crew attempted to bomb the sinking Blücher, mistaking it for a British ship, despite the fact that the maximum elevation of those guns was only 20°. Princess Royal was not damaged during the battle.
HMS Princess Royal (1911)