Japanese destroyers and night torpedo doctrine

Japanese destroyers were expected to screen capital ships and carriers by day, then attack with massed Long Lance torpedo salvos at night. The night attack depended on an enemy remaining unaware and maintaining a predictable course. The idea drew on Russo-Japanese War experience, while opponents with different training and wartime habits could spoil its assumptions. Convoy escort received little emphasis in the intended role, although destroyers eventually performed a great deal of it. One explanation is that Japan expected to lose a prolonged war against British or American industrial resources and therefore concentrated on delivering an overwhelming early blow. British plans for a long war and an enemy's willingness to continue fighting undermined that expectation.