Comments by "William Cox" (@WildBillCox13) on "The Drydock - Episode 161" video.

  1. An opinion piece: Bombarding the French Fleet at anchorage. Not a good strategy. I personally believe it was literally knuckle dragging stupid, but I wasn't there. Perhaps an offer to take a French observer/officer on an observation circuit of the Allied fleet and then, after letting him report back, give the Admiral a two hour timeline. Plenty of time for him to fret and sweat, but not enough time to gather any Axis sharks in the area. The forces standing off his harbor were considerable. A navy man would understand exactly what was to come. "The British force comprised the battlecruiser HMS Hood, the battleships HMS Valiant and Resolution, the aircraft carrier Ark Royal and an escort of cruisers and destroyers." These ships were all in good repair and able to fight*. The French units had withdrawn to Africa simply to escape capture. They had not a maintenance and repair echelon comparable to the need. None was ready to sortie. They were, to coin a phrase, French pheasants under British glass. *Six 15"/45cal rifles. Sixteen excellent 14"/45 cal Rifles. Plus Ark Royal's mix of Torpedo Bombers, Carrier Fighters, Patrol Bombers and, la piece de resistance, the Blackburn Blackburn. You're welcome, Derp.
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  2. Saturation and Carpet bombing was what we did to cities. Seems that it might be useful against ships as well. Though a thousand bomber raid for an enemy Carrier task group might seem like overkill, it is correct. The size of an enemy Carrier task group is the size of a city. To bomb that task group to rubble is as useful as slowing a city's production for a few days. Ergo, a thousand bomber raid is worthwhile.
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  3.  @gwtpictgwtpict4214  I stand corrected.
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