Q&A ยท 2:05:39-2:06:11

Could a destroyer board a battleship in World War II?

Boarding remained possible in special cases, but a destroyer crew was not equipped to seize an alert enemy battleship.

Question

Could a destroyer crew board and capture an enemy battleship during the Second World War?

Short answer

Not realistically against an alert battleship, although special boarding actions such as the Altmark incident remained possible.

Notes

The Altmark incident shows that boarding actions still occurred during the Second World War. That kind of operation differed sharply from a small warship trying to capture a much larger combatant. Ships carried small arms and might embark marines or equivalent troops, but not a force designed to storm an alert battleship. Feasibility depended on surprise, the target's condition, and the mission.