Narvik: spotting aircraft and battleship firepower

Warspite entered Ofotfjord with nine destroyers after the German invasion of Norway and used her Swordfish floatplane for reconnaissance and gunnery spotting. The aircraft's sinking of U-64 and its reports on concealed destroyers show how aviation could extend a capital ship's awareness even in restricted waters. Those reports let British destroyers approach ambush positions with their weapons already trained, after which Warspite's heavy guns overwhelmed German destroyers at close range. Her heavy guns formed part of a destroyer action, rather than an independent battleship duel. Later short bombardments in Norwegian waters proved ineffective, but they gave the crew experience for the much larger shore-support role Warspite would perform later in the war.