Sean Jordan’s Reviews > Fighting in the Dark: Naval Combat at Night, 1904-1944 > Status Update

US Navy (1942-1944): Torpedo stealth has become abandoned for massive gun barrages on ships which set the Navy behind the Imperial Navy of Japan resulting in the devastation of Ironbottom Sound. Through the utilization of CIC, radar, and naval doctrine, command by negation becomes loosely established to develop a “one naval mind” and reign in some of the chaos in victory at the battles of Vella and Leyte Gulf.

Japanese Imperial Navy (Interwar/WWII): Japan through true tactical and naval technology advancements and preparing for potential war with the United States for 30 years, result in them becoming night action gurus. Strategically however, they are unable to fully capitalize on this advantage (i.e. Guadalcanal) ultimately swinging the naval conflict from battleship to carrier driven.

Italian Navy (Interwar/WWII): nothing like watching someone practice night ops in your backyard to stir up some commotion that you should do it too. The Italian navy did not have the technology advancement to match against the British but welcomed night action because it evened the playing field and removed the air dimension of battle. Tactics were not clear or direct enough to prove anything of substance.

Great Britain (Interwar Period): after the embarrassment at Jutland, the British navy still is hesitant towards night action; however, they embrace technological and tactical advancements and leagues of practice to bring forward comfortability of it. Radio intercepts, ship plots, sonar, the future of radar, Star shells with search lights, and air reconnaissance pave the way towards naval strategy in WWII.

German Navy in the Great War: the German Naval tacticians become deeply frustrated in implement torpedo boat swarm tactics. This causes a shift from the use of torpedos from the surface to the subsurface for greater effectiveness. Additionally innovations from coal to oil powered ships along light signal communication ingenuity creates the shroud of darkness for lethal close quarters naval gun fire.

Russo-Japanese War: the innovative torpedo technology introduces a new tactic and confusion to night combat. Battle Damage Assessment becomes misconstrued along with clouded maneuvering which mixes and friend and foe due to similar colored light communication schemes. Neither force is truly decisive.