题图和封面的绘画描述的是“厌战”脱离日德兰海战战场后，在返回罗赛斯港的途中试图撞击袭击自己的德军潜艇U-63号的场景。
本文乃我一时兴起之作，如有语句不通之处还请各位看官海涵。本文字数较多，请各位看官耐心阅读。
去年，一位头条用户在与我讨论有关日德兰海战的话题时，说了这样一句话："厌战是肯定出现在战列线之后的，因为双方战史均有明确记载厌战号的出现挽救了武士号装甲巡洋舰。"
我当时就用章骞先生所著《无畏之海》一书中的内容反驳了这一说法，最后双方的讨论以各自保留各自意见而结束，之后我也逐渐淡忘了此事。然而最近我在翻阅某游戏攻略网站时发现了与那位头条用户的观点相似的说辞（见下图）：
这重新唤起了我的记忆，并决定好好查查"厌战救武士"之说的出处。
首先我根据某游戏攻略网站里的说辞进行关键词搜索，在其他几个网站也找到了类似的说法：
看完上述说法之后，我突然觉得似乎在哪儿看到过它。于是我把手头拥有的中文军事书刊全部翻了一遍，终于在一本名叫《英国战列舰全史1914-1960》的书里找到了这段话，原文如下：
……在战斗中，为了避免与己方的装甲巡洋舰"勇士"号（注：也就是武士号装巡）相撞，"厌战"号大幅度转动船舵却被卡住了。情急之下，舰长命令继续前进，于是"厌战"号开始在整个公海舰队面前绕起了圈子。……
《全史》里描述“厌战”号划圈的过程跟章骞先生《无畏之海》书里的内容是大相径庭，《无畏之海》书中是这样描述厌战的"死亡回旋"：
……德国"皇后"号无畏舰发现了浮现在薄雾中的这些战列舰，于是在相距11000米处开始射击，而18时左右，伊文-托马斯舰队（注：也就是5BS）中的第3舰"厌战"号开始向左转舵，因而被一发炮弹击中。
该舰自从竣工之时，其舵机便有故障的隐患，此时或许是受了命中炮弹的影响，这个隐患在最为要命的时候再度发作，航向突然向左偏去，几乎要和前面的"刚勇"号相撞。为了摆脱这个危局，舰长菲尔波茨上校只得下令通过推进器来改变航向，努力回归战列。但是由于军舰的舵机无法立即从左舵状态复原，因此舰长又不得已下令高速航行，"厌战"号在激战的炮火中开始划起了圈，直冲着敌方转了回去。……
《全史》与《无畏之海》的说辞出现了冲突，中文书籍显然是不能回答我的疑问了。于是我决定去外文书籍里寻找答案。之后我在《From the Dreadnought to Scapa Flow, Volume 03 Jutland and After, May 1916 - December 1916》这本书中找到了有关"厌战"号在日德兰海战的描述，以下为该书原文：
……Now, when Evan-Thomas first sighted the Marlborough (6.06), he was under the impression that the battle fleet had already deployed and was being led by the first (Marlborough) division. He therefore decided to get into position to the eastward, that is, to take station ahead of the Marlborough on her then southeasterly course. Realizing, as he drew ahead, that he was mistaken, that deployment was taking place on the other wing and that he could not reach his assigned battle station in the van without masking the fire of the battle line, he decided to take up his alternative battle station at the rear of the line. And there the squadron remained for the rest of the day.
During the wide turn to port which this movement had necessitated, the squadron came under heavy fire. The Warspite, her helm jammed, made two complete circles, which carried her to within 10,000 yards of the head of the enemy's line, and sustained 13 hits. She regained control of her helm and followed the Barham to the northward, but at 7 p.m., when half a mile off the Malaya, her helm again went out of order. She took no further part in the battle and was shortly afterwards ordered back to Rosyth by Evan-Thomas.
The Warspite's impromptu turns drew the enemy's fire from the cruiser Warrior and probably saved the latter from destruction. Therein lies another story.……
翻译大意如下：
……现在，当伊文-托马斯（注：5BS指挥官）第一次看到马尔博罗号（下午6时6分）时，他以为是由马尔博罗号来作为战列线领舰。于是决定向东就位，也就是马尔博罗号的东南方向。但当他继续前进时，他意识到自己错了……（中间这段以我的英语水平无法正确翻译，遂略）这一行动所必需的大转弯中，中队（注：指5BS）遭到猛烈炮击。在炮火中，"厌战"号的舵卡住了，在海面上划了两个完整的圈，把她带到了距离敌军战列线不到10000码的地方，期间挨了13发炮弹。之后她重新掌控了自己的舵，跟随"巴勒姆"号（注：5BS旗舰）的方向向北行驶。但在晚上7点，离"马来亚"号（注：处于5BS的末位）半英里的地方，她的舵又失灵了。伊文-托马斯命令她返回罗赛斯，她没有再参加接下来的战斗。
"厌战"号的无准备转向让敌军的火力从"武士"号转到了她的身上，可能拯救了"武士"号，但这是另一个故事了。……
第五战列舰中队指挥官伊文-托马斯海军少将
英军大舰队可能的部署阵型，也是伊文-托马斯所认为的大舰队阵型。
实际上的英军大舰队阵型（红色）。
这段话总算让我明白了 "厌战救武士"说法是为何意了："厌战"号在18时06分之后的大转向中，舵机出现故障在海面划圈，缩短了自身与德方的距离，吸引了德方的炮火，可能让正在遭受敌方重点打击的"武士"号受到的打击减弱，并让其得以身免。可是又有了一个新问题，"厌战避让武士"这个说法又是从何而来呢？我又在《From the Dreadnought to Scapa Flow, Volume 03 Jutland and After, May 1916 - December 1916》书中找到了一段话，就在描述"厌战"号"死亡回旋"文字的后面，原文如下：
……The Warspite's impromptu turns drew the enemy's fire from the cruiser Warrior and probably saved the latter from destruction. Therein lies another story. At 5.47 the Defence and Warrior, of the 1st Cruiser Squadron (the former was Arbuthnot's flagship), in company on the cruiser screen, had caught a glimpse of the 2nd Scouting Group. They opened fire, the shots falling short. As the enemy disappeared in the mist, Arbuthnot turned to starboard in pursuit (6.01). So hell-bent was he on getting at the enemy that he pressed across the bows of the Lion, forcing her to alter to port to avoid a collision. Coming across the disabled Wiesbaden (2nd S.G.), Arbuthnot stopped to finish her off and prevent her firing torpedoes at the battle cruisers as they passed. He had closed to 5,500 yards when the huge outlines of German capital ships loomed up to the southward, less than 8,000 yards away. The odds were impossible. (Walter Cowan, in the Princess Royal, spying an armoured cruiser heading straight for the German battle line, was willing to 'bet anything' that it was Arbuthnot.) The Deriflinger and four dreadnoughts in the van of the German line smothered the Defence with fire, and at 6.20 she 'suddenly disappeared completely in an immense column of smoke and flame, hundreds of feet high. It appeared to be an absolutely instantaneous destruction, the ship seeming to be dismembered at once.'There were no survivors. The Warrior would probably have shared her fate but for the gyrations of the Warspite. She managed to get away safely to the westward, was taken in tow by the Engadine, but had to be abandoned because of her bad condition and the rising sea (about 7 a.m., I June) some 160 miles east of Aberdeen.……
翻译大意为：
……当敌人消失在雾中时，阿尔布斯诺特（注：第一巡洋舰中队司令，旗舰为"防御"号装巡）转向右舷追赶（下午6时1分）。他指挥舰队急不可耐地向敌人扑去，高速越过"狮"号战巡的船头，迫使“狮”号转向左舷以避免相撞。……（中间的这段我也无法保证翻译是否正确，遂略）在6时20分时，她（注：指"防御"号装巡）突然完全消失在了几百英尺高的烟柱与火焰中。这似乎是一个绝对的毁灭瞬间，船看上去被肢解了一样。要不是"厌战"号在海面转圈（吸引了敌军火力），"武士"号装巡可能也要经历与"防御"号一样命运。"武士"号安全的逃到西边，遇到并被水机母舰"恩加丁"号拖带，但由于受创过重、进水过多，在距离阿伯丁以东160英里的地方，"武士"号舰员弃船。……
1907年拍摄的“防御”号装甲巡洋舰。
2015年时用多波束探测仪记录下的“防御”号残骸，船体出乎意料的完整。
第一巡洋舰中队司令罗伯特-阿尔布斯诺特（Robert Arbuthnot）海军少将，在日德兰海战中与自己的旗舰“防御”号同沉。
看来《全史》里"厌战避让武士"的说法是犯了"移花接木"和"望文生义"的错误，误导了大批读者，着实令人大跌眼镜。
至于"武士"号装巡的舰员在日德兰海战后有没有认为是"厌战"号的"死亡回旋"拯救了自己呢？我在《Warspite Warships of the Royal Navy by Iain Ballantyne》一书中找到了一段话，原文如下：……In the centre of Warspite's crazy circles was the badly damaged HMS Warrior which duly received salvation, German gunners deciding the out of control British super dreadnought was a much juicier target.
Warrior's crew believed the Warspite's actions were a deliberate act to save them from certain death and were, for the rest of their days, grateful to the battleship. An officer in a nearby British cruiser saw the enemy's barrage switch to Warspite:
As she continued to plunge forward towards the Germans the tornado lifted from
Warrior, hovered as it seemed in space and fell with a crash about Warspite.……
翻译大意为：
……"武士"号的舰员们认为，"厌战"号近乎疯狂的转圈行为是有意要引开敌方的炮火来拯救自己（注：厌战的转圈是不得已而为之），让他们免于死亡。"武士"的船员们在余下的日子里，感谢"厌战"号。附近一艘英军巡洋舰的军官也看到了敌方的炮火转到了"厌战"号的身上，并发出如下感慨：“当"武士"号继续向德国人猛扑去时，一股龙卷风将她卷起。当她无助的在天空中盘旋着时，"厌战"发出的轰鸣让她落地了。”……
“武士”号装甲巡洋舰的照片我没有找到，只能用其姊妹舰“黑太子”号的照片代替，这张照片拍摄于1905年。
还是在《Warspite Warships of the Royal Navy by Iain Ballantyne》这本书里我也找到了可以证明"厌战"号没有与 "武士"号"擦肩而过"的文字描述，原文如下：……As the 5th Battle Squadron joined the Grand Fleet and turned into line, the Warspite narrowly avoided being squashed between the Valiant and Malaya. Turning hard, her steering jammed because it had already been damaged by the shell which hit near the port wing engine room. The after bulkhead of the centre engine room – to which the steering engine was fixed – had buckled. This had created a 'hot bearing' so that, when the wheel was rotated too quickly during the turn to avoid Valiant, the steering jammed. Like a car driver missing his turning on a roundabout, Captain Phillpotts decided it was better to go around again and keep moving than stop and reverse course while under fire from the entire German fleet. Control of the guns was immediately devolved down to individual turrets, it being impossible for the control tops to function in such wild circumstances.……
翻译大意为：
……当第5战列舰中队加入大舰队并转入队列期间，"厌战"差点被"刚勇"和"马来亚"这两舰给“挤扁”。为了躲避这两舰她使劲的转向，就在这时她的舵卡住了。原因是一发先前命中左舷发动机舱附近（注：命中的应该是侧甲带，而不是发动机舱本身）的炮弹导致中央发动机室的后舱壁（舵机固定在其上）发生了弯曲，而刚刚为了躲避前方的"刚勇"，"厌战"快速转向，舵机直接卡死了。就像一个汽车司机在环形交叉路口错过了转弯一样，舰长菲尔波茨决定在整个德军舰队的火力下转一个圈再继续前进，而不是停下来倒车。对主炮的控制权被立即下放给了各个炮塔，因为在这种恶劣的情况下主火控系统无法正常发挥作用。……
“厌战”号在日德兰海战时的舰长爱德华·蒙哥马利·菲尔波茨（Edward Montgomery Phillpotts）海军上校，照片上的狗为他个人宠物。
在综合了多方资料后，能确定"厌战拯救武士"的说法是真实存在的，尽管这一说法在中文网络的传播中夹杂了错误。而且那位头条用户"厌战在战列线后方"的这一说法也无误，从整个日德兰海战的战场阵列上看，"厌战"在摆脱了海上划圈的境地之后至晚上7点之前的一段短暂的时间里，的确是跟在已经完成部署的英军大舰队战列线的队尾，还是最末尾。因为当时的5BS已经位于大舰队的队尾了。
“水兵国王”（The Sailor King）——英王乔治五世在日德兰海战后视察英军大舰队以提振士气。他还特别视察了“厌战”号的战损与修复情况，这张照片就是在“厌战”号上拍摄的。
