Big ships vs little ships (was Re: Helltank and Helltank Destroyer)

> Well... can you think of a time when _any_  German capital ship other
than the
> Bismarck even put to sea? I could be wrong, and as I'm in the States
at the
> moment I don't have my reference books to hand (they're all back in
the UK),

Hmmm.. Graf Spee (as in the Battle of the River Plate), Admiral Scheer
(sp?).. (as in the Jervis Bay), the Prince Eugene and the Gneisenau in
their dash down the channel are some that spring to mind..  Depends on
whether pocket battleships and heavy cruisers count or not.

> but I think germany only ever built the Bismarck andTirpitz. In the
case of
> the Bismarck, leaving port without a serious destroyer escort was a
pretty
> suicidal move, though not so much because of the torpedo threat as
aircraft.
> Air power was the major threat to capital ships in WWII, hence the
reason the
> US navy operated in Task Forces: the destroyer 'screen' was primarily
an anti-
> aircraft defence.
> 
> Jonathan was actually referring originally to WWI, where airpower was
not a
> factor, but destroyer squadrons were effectively employed, if only to
cover
> the retreat of the battleships.
> 
> Anyway, this discussion seems to have come a long way from Helltank!

Yup.

> 
> Later,
> 
> Matt Hill

-- 
Barry Cadwgan ( BCADWGAN@FL.NET.AU )
http://www.users.fl.net.au/~bcadwgan/homepage.htm
"The end does not justify the means.  
 The end is the sum of the means,
 as the road travelled determines the destination." 
Valijon Starbringer (Hellflower Trilogy, Eluki bes Shahar)