sillyflower -> RE: surface ships 'raider' exploit? (7/21/2020 3:32:43 PM)
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Thanks Alvaro. That seems fairer re port attacks Re your other points, the only port strikes I know of in the west (other than ) Were Taranto. Enabled by significant aerial recce from Malta but there were many other such successful strike to Italian ports inc Taranto itself. Axis also had a lot of success bombing ships + subs in the Malta harbours (sic). I've just finished reading the excellent 'Malta under siege' by James Holland. Lots of other ships were sunk in other harbours in N. Africa. Then there was Oran - no difficulty in spotting the French fleet.In other words, when you knew the ships were there (not difficult due to air recce) it was quite easy if defences were light. Defensive bombers would make life difficult and precise night navigation was often difficult. Lack of naval battles at sea can be attributed simply to lack of opportunity.I don't think the Germans tried after the Bismanrk's failure. There were the inshore fights related to the Norway Landings, others in the Med, but v. few excursions by axis fleets to allow such a battle. I don't think the allies had much difficulty in tracking down + killing surface raiders once they were in the right neighbourhood. Finding and tracking a fleet was have been much easier, and easier than in the Pacific because the area was much smaller. Similarly the axis had no difficulty in finding and attacking the Malta convoys. See eg Tirpitz' unsuccessful last foray. Ultra played a huge part but the Allies don't have that, any more than the radar without which the battle of Britain would have ended with invasion and conquest.
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