On 31 May, "Thunderer", under the command of Captain James Fergusson, was the eighth ship from the head of the battle line after deployment. At 18:27 the ship briefly fired at the crippled light cruiser , although the number of hits made, if any, is unknown, until her view was blocked by other British ships. Less than an hour later, "Thunderer" sighted two German dreadnoughts visible between and at about 19:15. She fired three salvoes of common pointed, capped (CPC) at the leading ship, but no hits were made and the second salvo was actually fired over the top of "Iron Duke", before her view was totally obscured. After sunset, the battlecruiser spotted the four "Orion"-class ships at 22:30 and signalled a challenge to "Thunderer" before . Fergusson chose not to engage without an obvious threat lest he reveal the location of the battlefleet. "Thunderer" fired just thirty-seven 13.5-inch shells (all CPC) during the battle.