 After Indefatigable 's loss New Zealand shifted her fire to Von der Tann in accordance with Beatty 's standing instructions . The range had grown too far for accurate shooting so Beatty altered course four points to port to close the range again between 4 : 12 and 4 : 15 . By this time the 5th Battle Squadron of four Queen Elizabeth @-@ class battleships had close up and was engaging Von der Tann and Moltke . At 4 : 23 a 13 @.@ 5 @-@ inch ( 340 mm ) shell from Tiger hit near Von der Tann 's rear turret and started a fire among the practice targets stowed there that completely enveloped the ship and caused New Zealand to shift fire to Moltke . At 4 : 30 the light cruiser Southampton , scouting in front of Beatty 's ships , spotted the lead elements of the High Seas Fleet charging north at top speed . Three minutes later she sighted the topmasts of Vice @-@ Admiral Reinhard Scheer 's battleships , but did not transmit a message to Beatty for another five minutes . Beatty continued south for another two minutes to confirm the sighting himself before ordering a sixteen @-@ point turn to starboard in succession . New Zealand , last ship in the fleet , turned prematurely to stay outside the range of the oncoming battleships . During the entire ' Run to the South ' she was hit only once , in ' Y ' turret by a 28 cm shell with little effect . 
