The torpedo strength behind HMS Anson's distant cover

Anson and Cumberland had three fleet destroyers and two Hunt-class escorts in their distant covering force. The Hunts could screen the heavy ships against submarines while Forester, Icarus and Impulsive were released for surface action. Each I-class destroyer carried ten torpedo tubes, and Forester carried eight, allowing a combined salvo of twenty-eight or two salvos of fourteen. Extra torpedoes carried on deck would have required manual reloading at sea. Alex Clarke recalls being shown torpedo tie-down positions during visits to Haida and other preserved British-pattern destroyers, which reinforced his suspicion that some wartime ships carried spare torpedoes. This recollection supports a possible practice, without establishing that Anson's three fleet destroyers carried reloads in this battle. Bringing the distant cover into the engagement would also have added a battleship and cruiser to the forces already threatening the Germans.