Two interwar specialties emerge: destroyer flotillas inherited Harwich's aggressive culture, and naval aviators learned to fly and strike after dark. Both could exploit darkness without immediately putting a capital ship into a visual knife fight. Battleships continued to practise, but before radar their size and value made close-range night engagements an unattractive gamble. Night competence spread across the fleet while the most offensive techniques developed most strongly in light forces and aviation.
Notable Point · 58:20-59:03
Why destroyers and naval aviation became Britain's night specialists
Interwar British night-fighting investment concentrated its most offensive methods in destroyers and naval aviation rather than risking battleships at visual knife-fighting range.