How radar let the 10th Destroyer Flotilla fight line abreast

Basil Jones took over the 10th Destroyer Flotilla from St. John Tyrwhitt in March 1944 and developed tactics around the Tribals' heavy forward guns, radar, handling, and trained crews. A broad line abreast let the forecastle guns bear, kept radar views clear ahead, and gave ships room for individual torpedo avoidance. Line ahead remained the comfortable cruising formation because prolonged station keeping abreast strained the crews, although PPI reduced that difficulty. Cape Bon illustrates the drawbacks of line ahead: the rear ships contributed little, torpedoes were harder to avoid, and turning away could lose the enemy. The hoped-for effect was that water passing between ships abreast would draw torpedoes or mines into the gaps. These changes prepared the flotilla for the Battle of Ushant.