German destroyer identity after the losses at Narvik

After the heavy losses at Narvik, Hitler removed personal names from German destroyers to reduce the propaganda impact of future sinkings. The argument is that this change weakened crews' connection to their ships because names had already formed part of destroyer tradition. Numbered U-boats followed an established convention, while removing destroyer names erased an identity crews already shared. Attempts to use unofficial nicknames could be discouraged. Ship preservation and propaganda concerns therefore affected morale as well as the orders given to commanders.