Q&A ยท 4:03:45-4:10:45

Swapping Allied cruisers and destroyers between theaters

British crews could bring several years of combat experience, routine zigzagging, and close-range night tactics to Guadalcanal.

Question

What if Britain and the United States swapped cruisers and destroyers between the Mediterranean and Guadalcanal?

Short answer

British crews would bring more wartime experience to Guadalcanal, especially in zigzagging and night fighting.

Notes

The main advantage at Guadalcanal would come from British crews and commanders who had been at war since 1939. Their ships differed from American designs, but established wartime habits mattered more in this comparison. Routine zigzagging would complicate Japanese long-range torpedo attacks without making the British immune to them. Japanese ships would need to approach more closely, bringing them into the range of British radar and close-range night tactics. The comparison concerns how quickly crews learn to use their ships in war, with experienced American forces of 1944 offered as a parallel.