Admiral Whitworth's hindsight raises the question of whether the Royal Navy could have turned control of Narvik harbour into immediate action ashore. Landing organized soldiers took time, and Whitworth later remarked that he might instead have led sailors from HMS Warspite himself. Those sailors would not have matched German mountain troops in a fair infantry fight. Warspite's 15-inch guns, however, could have changed the terms of the encounter before the defenders consolidated. The outcome was uncertain, but Whitworth regarded the delay as a missed opportunity.
Notable Point · 8:32-10:30
Warspite and the missed chance to land at Narvik
After the Second Battle of Narvik, Admiral Whitworth regretted not putting sailors ashore quickly enough to exploit the naval victory.