Torpedo-heavy destroyer groups needed enough gun power to reach their attack positions through enemy screens. A gun-strong Tribal could provide cover while other ships concentrated on their torpedo salvos. Successive attacks by several divisions could theoretically send scores of weapons toward an enemy fleet, especially under smoke or at night. Exercises rarely produced that ideal attack. They more regularly achieved box operations that surrounded individual ships or small groups and prevented them escaping before heavier forces could engage in the morning. Doctrine provided ideas to adapt, and officers were judged by whether they achieved their objective under the conditions they encountered.
Notable Point · 1:20:05-1:23:55
Ideal mass attack meets exercise reality
Tribal gun support could help torpedo attackers approach, while exercises more often achieved nighttime containment than a perfect massed fleet attack.