Torpedo aiming as art and science
A successful torpedo attack combines calculation with a judgment about where a moving opponent will be.
From Torpedoes and their Ships 1900-39: Patreon 54 (Long Patrol) ·
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Tribal destroyers and rapid wartime learning
Tribals, Battles and Darings uses the Norwegian Campaign to show how destroyer tactics changed within days as crews learned what air attack demanded.
From 2022 Canada Naval History Trip Reading List (Long Patrol Book Review) ·
From Tribal, Battle, and Daring classes to the modern destroyer
Two contrasting book projects show how a class history differs from tracing the Royal Navy's path toward the large general-purpose destroyer.
From 2022 Canada Naval History Trip Reading List (Long Patrol Book Review) ·
HMCS Haida in combat and French coastal operations
Martin Brice's class history leads into HMCS Haida's 1944 combat damage, Plymouth repairs, Bay of Biscay patrols, and cooperation with French resistance forces.
From 2022 Canada Naval History Trip Reading List (Long Patrol Book Review) ·
Treaty-era designs after Washington
Warships after Washington is recommended for its treaty-era designs, battleship discussions, and diagrams that make reconstruction choices visible.
From 2022 Canada Naval History Trip Reading List (Long Patrol Book Review) ·
King George V armament and battleship perception
Warships after London prompts a close comparison of King George V armament layouts and how gun count shapes perceptions of battleship power.
From 2022 Canada Naval History Trip Reading List (Long Patrol Book Review) ·
Akagi's reconstruction and Japan's industrial limits
Akagi's reconstruction becomes a case study in how finance, shipbuilding skills, transport, and resources constrained Japanese carrier power.
From 2022 Canada Naval History Trip Reading List (Long Patrol Book Review) ·
Camouflage and the adaptable Flower-class corvette
A camouflage study becomes a guide to why Flower-class corvettes were widely used, rugged escorts rather than first-rate specialist vessels.
From 2022 Canada Naval History Trip Reading List (Long Patrol Book Review) ·
British warship losses beyond battle
British Warship Losses widens naval history beyond combat by recording peacetime accidents and the small auxiliary craft that sustained the fleet.
From 2022 Canada Naval History Trip Reading List (Long Patrol Book Review) ·
HMS H29 and the cost of an unclear order
H29's fatal 1926 basin trial shows how ambiguous ballast instructions and obstructed hatches turned routine dockyard work into a systems accident.
From 2022 Canada Naval History Trip Reading List (Long Patrol Book Review) ·
Testing a naval loss register's source trail
The H29 entry leads into archival, newspaper, and secondary citations, showing how a reference book can open a route into deeper research.
From 2022 Canada Naval History Trip Reading List (Long Patrol Book Review) ·
A visual overview of Second World War naval battles
A picture-rich survey maps major Second World War naval actions while inviting readers to notice how battles and campaigns are selected and sequenced.
From 2022 Canada Naval History Trip Reading List (Long Patrol Book Review) ·
HMS Savage as a Battle-class gun test bed
A photograph of HMS Savage reveals how an experimental destroyer installation tested the twin 4.5-inch mounting used by the Battle class.
From 2022 Canada Naval History Trip Reading List (Long Patrol Book Review) ·
Classifying Scharnhorst and the Deutschland class
Scharnhorst, Gneisenau, and the Deutschland class illustrate why speed or gun calibre alone cannot settle a warship's classification.
From 2022 Canada Naval History Trip Reading List (Long Patrol Book Review) ·
Channel Dash detection and planning assumptions
Weather, radar trouble, delayed reporting, and an unexpected daylight passage left Operation Fuller reacting after the German force was already far up the Channel.
From 2022 Canada Naval History Trip Reading List (Long Patrol Book Review) ·
A Swordfish turns an illuminated harbour buoy into a target
An Italian defensive buoy meant to silhouette attacking Swordfish was destroyed when the last aircraft aimed its torpedo directly at the light.
From 2022 Canada Naval History Trip Reading List (Long Patrol Book Review) ·
Charles Lamb's Swordfish escape from Fiat fighters
Charles Lamb used the Swordfish's low-speed handling to force two attacking Fiat biplanes past him, but damage showed how narrow the escape had been.
From 2022 Canada Naval History Trip Reading List (Long Patrol Book Review) ·
Swordfish operations and the loss of Paramythia
Operations from Paramythia show both the Swordfish's effectiveness against shipping and the fragility of a secret forward air base.
From 2022 Canada Naval History Trip Reading List (Long Patrol Book Review) ·
Reassessing the postwar British submarine fleet
British Submarines in the Cold War opens with the Porpoise class, fast-battery boats, and a 1956 review of how Britain should answer the growing Soviet submarine threat.
From 2022 Canada Naval History Trip Reading List (Long Patrol Book Review) ·
Long-range strike submarines and interservice rivalry
A proposed strike submarine combined attacks on enemy naval bases with American missile procurement and a careful response to Royal Air Force interests.
From 2022 Canada Naval History Trip Reading List (Long Patrol Book Review) ·
Albacore, Barbel, and Britain's limited design capacity
American work on Albacore and the Barbel class offered a new underwater form, but British finances and design staff could pursue only a few competing submarine projects.
From 2022 Canada Naval History Trip Reading List (Long Patrol Book Review) ·
Early sea-based missile concepts under uncertainty
Speculation about enormous missiles and saddleback submarines illustrates why naval programmes need room to absorb mistaken forecasts.
From 2022 Canada Naval History Trip Reading List (Long Patrol Book Review) ·
Why the Whitehead torpedo promised a giant killer
The self-propelled Whitehead torpedo gave small craft a theoretical way to sink capital ships, but its trim, range, and aiming limits shaped the weapon from the start.
From Patreon 54: Torpedo development 1900-1939 and it's impact on destroyer design an doctrine ·
Why the Mark IV followed the Mark II
A viewer asks whether the British 21-inch Mark IV was meant to replace the Mark III. It effectively replaced the Mark II because the Mark III did not become the expected intermediary.
From Patreon 54: Torpedo development 1900-1939 and it's impact on destroyer design an doctrine ·
Torpedo boats had to survive the run-in
Early torpedo boats were expendable because short-ranged weapons forced them close enough to be caught in the danger they created.
From Patreon 54: Torpedo development 1900-1939 and it's impact on destroyer design an doctrine ·
Why missiles displaced surface-ship torpedoes
A viewer asks why surface ships largely stopped using anti-ship torpedoes; the answer is that missiles offer much greater reach.
From Patreon 54: Torpedo development 1900-1939 and it's impact on destroyer design an doctrine ·
Why the Admiralty did not buy Whitehead outright
The Admiralty did not need to own Whitehead's entire enterprise or body of ideas because other builders were active and the navy could adopt useful developments without purchasing the inventor outright.
From Patreon 54: Torpedo development 1900-1939 and it's impact on destroyer design an doctrine ·
Shaped charges and torpedo warheads developed in parallel
Shaped-charge ideas in other weapons and torpedo warheads developed broadly in parallel rather than through a simple one-way transfer.
From Patreon 54: Torpedo development 1900-1939 and it's impact on destroyer design an doctrine ·
Why 21-inch torpedoes became the practical standard
The 21-inch torpedo balanced destructive power with the weight, stowage, reload, and legacy-platform costs that made larger weapons difficult to sustain.
From Patreon 54: Torpedo development 1900-1939 and it's impact on destroyer design an doctrine ·
Jeune École treated torpedo flotillas as a deterrent
Jeune École theory hoped numerous small torpedo craft could deny a stronger battle fleet access, but rapid-firing guns and enemy maneuver challenged its assumptions.
From Patreon 54: Torpedo development 1900-1939 and it's impact on destroyer design an doctrine ·
Hood would fire torpedoes if the bearing allowed
In a Denmark Strait counterfactual, Hood would fire her Mark IV torpedoes if completing the turn brought their tubes onto the required bearing.
From Patreon 54: Torpedo development 1900-1939 and it's impact on destroyer design an doctrine ·
How early Whitehead torpedoes entered the water
Early launching arrangements varied: some craft used bow launchers, while some early systems pushed the weapon into the water rather than relying on one universal tube design.
From Patreon 54: Torpedo development 1900-1939 and it's impact on destroyer design an doctrine ·
Modern weapons do not prove Jeune École correct
Modern missiles, torpedoes, submarines, and drones resemble systems Jeune École advocates might favor, but using those weapons does not validate the school's proposed method of war.
From Patreon 54: Torpedo development 1900-1939 and it's impact on destroyer design an doctrine ·
Fisher made flotilla defence support the battle fleet
A viewer suggests retaining Jeune École for coastal defence; Fisher's model shows the viable distinction between a local flotilla that enables a battle fleet and one expected to replace it.
From Patreon 54: Torpedo development 1900-1939 and it's impact on destroyer design an doctrine ·
Jackie Fisher used flotillas to free the battle fleet
Fisher's torpedo boats, destroyers, minelayers, and submarines were an enabling force for a globally deployed battle fleet, not a replacement for it.
From Patreon 54: Torpedo development 1900-1939 and it's impact on destroyer design an doctrine ·
Deterrence requires deployable fleet strength
A discussion of Jeune École leads into why denial claims need credible combat power, alliances, and enough ships to keep a deployable force available through refits and distant operations.
From Patreon 54: Torpedo development 1900-1939 and it's impact on destroyer design an doctrine ·
Austria-Hungary backed flotilla defence with dreadnoughts
Austria-Hungary did not implement a pure Jeune École defence in World War I because its flotilla forces operated behind a capable dreadnought fleet.
From Patreon 54: Torpedo development 1900-1939 and it's impact on destroyer design an doctrine ·
Deterrence needs capability, not fear of rhetoric
An opponent may issue extreme threats to force a retreat, so deterrence depends on credible, available capability and careful reading of signals rather than automatic deference to rhetoric.
From Patreon 54: Torpedo development 1900-1939 and it's impact on destroyer design an doctrine ·
Four ways navies tried to make torpedoes decisive
Sniping, mass attack, firepower-supported mass, night sniping, and maneuver-supported mass represent distinct approaches to surface-ship torpedo tactics.
From Patreon 54: Torpedo development 1900-1939 and it's impact on destroyer design an doctrine ·
Fisher wanted fear of war to prevent war
Fisher's aggressive language did not reflect a love of war. He wanted the Royal Navy to seem so dangerous that opponents would avoid fighting it.
From Patreon 54: Torpedo development 1900-1939 and it's impact on destroyer design an doctrine ·
Aegis Ashore is not equivalent to a ship at sea
A fixed Aegis Ashore site can add defensive capability, but it is not equivalent to a mobile Aegis warship and other systems may be preferable.
From Patreon 54: Torpedo development 1900-1939 and it's impact on destroyer design an doctrine ·
A torpedo sniper had to predict a moving target
A pair of torpedoes from a single boat offered poor odds because the target could turn before the weapon arrived, making simple sniping increasingly unreliable.
From Patreon 54: Torpedo development 1900-1939 and it's impact on destroyer design an doctrine ·
Dreadnought was designed with torpedo defence in mind
HMS Dreadnought received anti-torpedo protection described during the lecture as the best available in a battleship when built, reflecting Fisher's and her constructor's familiarity with the threat.
From Patreon 54: Torpedo development 1900-1939 and it's impact on destroyer design an doctrine ·
A close-range Whitehead still gave time to turn
At roughly 1,100 yards, a 35-knot Whitehead needed about 55 seconds to arrive, while the target could begin maneuvering as soon as the torpedo boat's attack became apparent.
From Patreon 54: Torpedo development 1900-1939 and it's impact on destroyer design an doctrine ·
Destroyers could chase targets that early submarines could not
Early submarines were effective torpedo ambushers but lacked the speed to pursue a fleet, while surface destroyers could react and maneuver with the action.
From Patreon 54: Torpedo development 1900-1939 and it's impact on destroyer design an doctrine ·
Mass attacks made destroyers both threat and defense
Massed torpedoes could force battle fleets to turn away and lose formation, while torpedo-boat destroyers were created to stop attackers before they launched.
From Patreon 54: Torpedo development 1900-1939 and it's impact on destroyer design an doctrine ·
Why a wonder weapon remains a theory
The torpedo-countermeasure cycle warns that weapons marketed as proven, counterless solutions remain hypotheses about how an enemy will react.
From Patreon 54: Torpedo development 1900-1939 and it's impact on destroyer design an doctrine ·
Gun-heavy destroyers cleared the way for torpedo flotillas
Scout cruisers, flotilla leaders, light cruisers, and the Tribal class carried extra gun power to suppress enemy destroyers and let the main torpedo force launch its disruptive strike.
From Patreon 54: Torpedo development 1900-1939 and it's impact on destroyer design an doctrine ·