Comments by "Gregory Wright" (@gregorywright4918) on "Ship vs Ship, 1 vs 1 - Why you don't see them here" video.

  1. The highly improbable is what draws the most attention - particularly of armchair historians of the future...
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  2.  @aw34565  No airman aims at the stern - you calculate your lead on the center of mass with an estimate of the ship's speed, and hope for the best. It would take a lot of work to plot airborne torpedo hits (by air service? by year? ship or land-launched?...) versus impact points (even just bow-midships-stern) and whether a "critical hit" was achieved. My semi-informed guess would be a bell curve that might be a bit leaning toward the stern (due to speed estimate issues). The key parts in the stern (rudders, exterior shafts, screws) were unprotected by torpedo defense schemes so more vulnerable to anything happening there. Then again, most AoN schemes left the bow relatively vulnerable too.
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  3. Commerce raiders tended to attack alone, but when possible would pair up with another or use a captured vessel as a companion (if only just to increase search radius). Their goal was to avoid any fight they could not overwhelm but pick off the lonely merchant. WWII destroyers/frigates/MTB were occasionally alone, but most often part of a squadron or task force when in planned fights. PBYs usually searched alone and would try to avoid a fight.
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  4. That was his reference to the Warspite...
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  5. There was Washington vs Indiana in Feb. of '44...
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  6. What target are you thinking of - fishing boats? A military vessel wants to carry the most powerful weapon it can fit for it's intended target. Hunting merchantmen was not in the original plan, but one hit from a 21-incher usually did the job. When a sub had a minor target that was not worth a torpedo she often surfaced and used the deck gun. It would have been more precise than a 7-inch torpedo (could they fit the engine and control system in there?).
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  7. The particular circumstances matter a lot. Meetings in the Slot often happened at close ranges where torpedoes would make a big difference and maneuvering was important. Escorts sometimes decided the action.
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  8. We have more battleship museums than anyone else...
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  9. Yet there were a number of other ships and shore batteries around...
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