In responce to a sighting of three German DD's the the 1/8 and 2/8 destroyer flotilla's sortied, lookouts spotted smoke at 0614 43km's SSE of Tayside, battle stations were sounded and all 17 ships plowed on through the rain.
Three enemy ships could be made out in the gloom ahaead, on a converging course with the British line, a single torpedoe track was also sighted. Avon in the lead opened fire, in a risky move the entire British line sailed on a opposite parallel course, the intention was to rake the three German ships with every gun and torpedoe.
For her trouble Avon was torpedoed, hit in the port side stern the blast destroyed her port screw and tore a 12 foot hole in her hull, she was doomed. Worse still more smoke was sighted, then another trail of smoke from a second line of ships, from here the battle degenerated in to a confused melle'e.
As the British line fell apart torpedoes were launched from both sides and gunnery ranges came down to 100 yards, lookouts on the British ships soon spotted three large ships soon after heavy shells started raining down. It was inevitable that in the confused close quarter combat that ships would fall victim to friendly fire, and they did on both sides. The surviving German ships captains were highly critical of the three BC's for firing on the British ships in such circumstances.
Vixin was torpeded and doomed, though before she succumbed to this German shells ripped her apart, like wise Otter was also torpeded, the blast touched off her forward magazine, none of her crew survived. TB6, her rudder jammed and entire crew dead, circled aimlessly, German ships desperatly trying to avoid her. DD's S32, and V45 were both hit by heavy shells and sunk, the former sending a WT to the BC's to cease fire for "gods sake". TB7 had her engines destroyed by a torpedoe, and TB 11 and 1 fell victim to magazine blasts, both ships sank in under a minute, no crew from either ship survived.
When it was over, not 30 minutes had passed, and all 17 British ships were gone as were 11 German DD's, with another 15 damaged.