Q&A · 2:09:43-2:10:43

Littorio-class battleships at Denmark Strait

Two Littorios would be formidable on either side of Denmark Strait, but their presence would also change the forces sent to meet them.

Question

What if two Littorio-class battleships were at Denmark Strait, either with Britain or against it?

Short answer

They would be dangerous combatants, but Britain would scale its hunting force to the larger threat rather than repeat the historical deployment.

Notes

If Littorio-class ships replaced Hood and Prince of Wales, Bismarck would face well-protected opponents with more reliable completed gun systems than the still-working-up Prince of Wales. Reversing the substitution also changes British planning. Intelligence that two modern Italian battleships were breaking out would not produce the same two-ship interception force. Britain would likely assemble three or four capital ships and carrier reconnaissance, illustrating again that counterfactual ships alter the operational response around them.