Britain disguised merchant ships as HMS Hermes and R-class battleships, while HMS Iron Duke was altered to look like an active capital ship instead of a gunnery-training vessel. The decoys moved between lochs and other anchorages, leaving German observers unsure which silhouettes represented real deployments. German surface ships were expected to tie down more British warships than Britain had actually committed, so dummy hulls supplied the missing visible strength. British control of German agent networks allowed their reports to reinforce the display. The false fleet matched the force picture German planners expected to see.
Notable Point · 31:40-33:20
Dummy capital ships satisfy German fleet expectations
Merchant hulls dressed as capital ships and a disguised gunnery-training vessel supply the British strength that German planners expect to see.