British night-fighting doctrine used lighter ships to illuminate or start fires on the enemy so the battle line could identify and engage targets. Tribal-class destroyers are the example, using high-explosive and star-shell fire. Closing the range at night could therefore be deliberate because a sudden short-range engagement gave heavy guns a destructive target once illumination succeeded. Enemy silhouettes and fires became usable target information for the heavier ships.
Notable Point · 2:30:57-2:34:46
Night action: finding targets by fire
British night-fighting doctrine could use destroyer gunfire, star shells, and fires on enemy ships to reveal targets for heavier forces.