Operation Wikinger: misidentification and minefields

Operation Wikinger is proposed as a naval loss caused by tactical mistakes and poor communication. German destroyers hunting in the North Sea came under attack from Luftwaffe aircraft intended to support them. The account describes a Heinkel He 111 crew misidentifying German destroyers as Royal Navy vessels despite their flags. It then turns to the ships encountering minefields. The panel explicitly leaves uncertainty about which minefields were involved, so the example does not assign every loss a settled cause.