At the Denmark Strait, German destroyers would have added another threat for Hood and Prince of Wales to manage. Conversely, large British fleet destroyers could have forced Bismarck and Prinz Eugen to evade torpedoes, disrupting their gunnery even if the destroyers scored no hits. Somali later charged an Italian battleship to keep it away from a convoy. A fast, maneuvering destroyer compelled the battleship to divert attention and secondary guns while smoke and torpedo danger broke up the attack. Closing the range also forced battleship turrets to traverse more quickly against a small target. Destroyers therefore mattered in a capital-ship fight because their torpedoes imposed movement and protected the fleet's vulnerable mission.
Notable Point · 3:28:18-3:34:16
Destroyers force battleships to maneuver and lose their aim
Torpedo threats make destroyers decisive participants in capital-ship actions by forcing battleships to turn, divide their fire, and abandon attacks on vulnerable convoys.