Night attacks, Long Lance, and the supply problem

Night torpedo tactics developed from Harwich Force experiments into interwar methods refined differently by the Japanese and British navies. Japanese destroyers combined strong low-light optics with long-range Long Lance attacks, using massed fire to improve the chance of a distant hit. The British approach used 4.7-inch guns, with 4.5-inch weapons also considered, to damage or ignite a target and give torpedo crews a visible bearing point. Shells were cheaper and more plentiful, whereas improving torpedoes had become expensive weapons that could not be treated as unlimited consumables. Anti-tank guided-missile expenditure in the Russo-Ukrainian War provides a modern comparison: combat use can outrun stocks much faster than simulations predict. Night tactics therefore depended on ammunition production and stockpiles. Simpler gun systems were likely to remain in service after scarce guided weapons were spent.