Long-range destroyers enable German task forces

Shared fuel and long-legged destroyers let German capital ships, cruisers, and escorts deploy as oceanic groups. A force might combine Scharnhorst, a Hipper or Deutschland, and a destroyer flotilla instead of sending each raider unsupported. Longer range also changes institutional incentives: destroyers now support offensive missions, which fits Third Reich procurement preferences better than purely defensive escort work. Such groups could operate in the North Atlantic or farther afield, giving raiders protection on the outward and return passages. The propulsion change therefore reshapes fleet organisation as well as individual ship endurance.