Night fighting before and after effective radar fire control

How would Royal Navy and United States Navy battleships compare in a World War II night action?

Britain has the stronger early-war night-fighting tradition; once radar fire control matures, the side that detects and fires first gains the decisive edge.

Pre-radar night-fighting skill and radar-directed gunfire created different kinds of advantage. British practice and wartime experience give the Royal Navy an edge through roughly 1942, with Matapan showing what trained forces could do. A transitional phase could provide radar detection without radar fire control, leaving a ship dependent on illumination or moonlight to aim. Once practical fire-control radar became widespread, first detection and the first accurate salvo mattered more than inherited reputation. North Cape and Guadalcanal illustrate how surprise and a usable radar picture could decide an engagement before the opponent understood the threat.