Editing Courageous-class battlecruiser (section)

=== Second Battle of Heligoland Bight ===
{{main|Second Battle of Heligoland Bight}}

Over the course of 1917 the Admiralty was becoming more concerned about German efforts in the North Sea to sweep paths through the British-laid minefields intended to restrict the actions of the [[High Seas Fleet]] and German [[submarine]]s. A preliminary raid on German minesweeping forces on 31 October by light forces destroyed ten small ships and the Admiralty decided on a larger operation to destroy the [[minesweeper (ship)|minesweepers]] and their escorting light cruisers. Based on intelligence reports the Admiralty decided on 17 November 1917 to allocate two light cruiser squadrons, the 1st CS covered by the reinforced [[1st Battlecruiser Squadron (United Kingdom)|1st Battlecruiser Squadron]] and, more distantly, the [[battleship]]s of the [[1st Battle Squadron]] to the operation.<ref>Newbolt, pp. 164–165.</ref>

The German ships, four light cruisers of II Scouting Force, eight destroyers, three divisions of minesweepers, eight ''Sperrbrecher''s (cork-filled trawlers, used to detonate mines without sinking) and two trawlers to mark the swept route, were spotted at 7:30&nbsp;a.m.,<ref group="Note">The times used in this article are in [[Coordinated Universal Time|UTC]], which is one hour behind [[Central European Time|CET]], which is often used in German works.</ref> silhouetted by the rising sun. ''Courageous'' and the light cruiser {{HMS|Cardiff|D58|2}} opened fire with their forward guns seven minutes later. The Germans responded by laying an effective [[smoke screen]]. The British continued in pursuit, but lost track of most of the smaller ships in the smoke and concentrated fire on the light cruisers as opportunity permitted. One 15-inch hit was made on a gun shield of {{SMS|Pillau}}, but it did not affect her speed. At 8:33 the left-hand gun in ''Glorious''{{'}}s forward turret was wrecked when a shell detonated inside the gun barrel. At 9:30 the 1st CS broke off their pursuit so they would not enter a [[minefield]] marked on their maps; the ships turned south, playing no further role in the battle. The German ships had too much of a lead to be caught by the British ships before they had to turn to avoid the minefield.<ref>McBride, pp. 110–112.</ref>

Both ships had taken minor damage from their own [[muzzle blast]]s, and ''Glorious'' required five days of repairs.<ref>McBride, p. 115.</ref> ''Courageous'' fired 92 rounds of 15-inch while ''Glorious'' fired 57, scoring only the single hit on ''Pillau'' between them. They also fired 180 and 213 four-inch shells respectively.<ref>Campbell, p. 67.</ref> ''Courageous''{{'}}s mine fittings were removed after the battle and both ships received flying-off platforms on top of their turrets in 1918. A [[Sopwith Camel]] was carried on the rear turret and a [[Sopwith 1½ Strutter]] on the forward turret.<ref>Campbell, p. 66.</ref>

''Furious'' was recommissioned on 15 March 1918 and her embarked aircraft were used on anti-[[Zeppelin]] patrols in the North Sea after May. In July 1918 she flew off seven [[Sopwith Camel]]s which participated in the [[Tondern raid]], attacking the Zeppelin sheds at [[Tondern]] with moderate success.<ref>Newbolt, p. 347.</ref> All three ships were present at the surrender of the German fleet on 21 November 1918.<ref name=b14/><ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.gwpda.org/naval/opzz.htm | title = Operation ZZ | publisher = World War One: The Great War at Sea | access-date = 13 May 2010 }}</ref>