The defending destroyers lay smoke, a sensible way to shield the convoy. Their formation is less successful because both can be covered by one side of the attacking capital ship. Separate attack axes would force the attacker to split fire and make its secondary battery solve more than one problem. Instead, the destroyers are engaged at the attacker's optimum range before their own torpedoes can be launched. The encounter shows how escort geometry and suppression determine whether a torpedo threat survives long enough to matter.
Notable Point · 2:07:00-2:08:14
Destroyer convoy defence and access to torpedo range
A convoy scenario shows why smoke, separated attack axes, and surviving long enough to reach torpedo range matter to defending destroyers.