The fleets carried 457 British and 469 German torpedo tubes overall, but the German destroyers held a larger share: 299 against 236 in British destroyers. That concentration formed part of Jellicoe's command problem. A commander making the decision in real time could not assume those weapons would remain ineffective simply because later analysis can trace their actual attacks. Criticism of his caution has to account for that large, mobile torpedo force.
Notable Point · 2:00:27-2:01:02
The destroyer arithmetic behind Jellicoe's caution
German destroyers carried more torpedo tubes than their British counterparts, giving Jellicoe a concrete threat to weigh during deployment.