The postwar Ostfriesland trials were intended to measure and grade bomb damage. Conditions were set to compensate for the absence of a crew carrying out damage control and for the lack of defensive fire. The criticism of Billy Mitchell is that he disregarded those conditions to demonstrate that aircraft could sink a battleship. On that interpretation, the sinking produced headlines at the expense of the damage assessment the Navy wanted.
Notable Point · 44:25-45:35
What the Ostfriesland bombing trial was meant to test
The criticism of Mitchell's Ostfriesland demonstration centres on the lost opportunity to inspect and assess bomb damage under agreed test conditions.