Q&A · 47:01-48:31

Naval combat without radio or radar

Removing radio and radar turns modern fleets back toward visual scouting and age-of-sail-style command limits despite their twentieth-century weapons and machinery.

Question

How would the absence of radio and radar change Second World War naval combat?

Short answer

Reconnaissance, long-range attack, and fleet coordination would collapse toward visual, local control despite otherwise modern ships and aircraft.

Notes

Without radar, detection and interception become far less reliable; without radio, coordinating forces over distance becomes nearly impossible. Navies might compensate with exceptional optical instruments and more developed acoustic listening, but the resulting warfare would still resemble age-of-sail command with modern equipment.