Keith said:
I'll only agree that crossing the T was moot after WW2 ended, with the dominance of aircraft, submarines and cruise missiles. It is a common failing that crossing the T is referenced to the age of pre-steel warships. Even Nelson himself did not "cross the T" at Trafalgar, as he actually did the reverse by closing with the opposite line at the bottom of the T and risking the chance (properly as it turned out) that they would fire at long range and miss. This allowed his Victory and his following ships to "break the line" and thus was able to rake the enemy ships and then came alongside of them. Nontheless, Nelson is credited with inventing the tactic I believe. At least it was recognised that the possibility was there to use. The British did a "breaking of the line" again at the Battle of the Saints in 1782. You are quite correct that the short ranges allowed for the heavy shot to run the length of the ship doing great damage. The stern area was where the officers cabins were located and had windows and was very succeptible to attack. While the formation of the Line of Battle was invented by the British it was quickly adopted by other Nations. The crossing of the T maneuver however, was only brought into existance with the advent of fast steel-hulled ships with long-range turreted guns. By obtaining a position with its own line at the head of an opposite force and perpendicular to it (either off of the bow or the stern) the entire force could use its entire broadsides of turret-trainable weapons to place concentrated enfilade-fire upon the lead ship of the enemy line. In return, the enemy lead ship could only return fire with its forward armament. Then, each enemy ship could be dealt with in detail as they exposed themselves. So really, with the advancement in technology of fast steam-powered ships armed with movable turrets, the naval tactic of crossing the T only came into proper use during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Some may disagree about Nelson at Trafalgar, but a proper T-crossing maneuver is completed away from an enemy force and outside of its bow or stern area. Sailing ships actually practiced the tactic of "breaking the line" which was a short-ranged reversal of the "T". Anyone today that thought that the maneuver was outmoded in WW1 and WW2 could be mistaken because it was a practice that was taught in naval academies and was something to be highly desired in a tactical battle. Consider these following sentences and tell me if you think they relate to Nelson's age:
Maneuver. Place the enemy in a position of disadvantage through the feasible application of combat power. Use of maneuver (mobility) capitalizes on the speed and agility of our forces (platforms and weapons) to gain an advantage in time and space relative to the enemy's vulnerabilities. Whether seen in historic warships "crossing the T," or modern ground forces enveloping an enemy, or forcing the tempo of combat beyond an adversary's ability to respond, maneuver allows us to get ahead of the enemy in several dimensions. Our advantage comes from exploiting the maneuver differential - our superiority in speed and position relative to our adversary.
and here-
New Tactics and Doctrine
The third key innovation in Japan's naval transformation efforts was the development of naval tactics that could take advantage of the new battle fleet's capabilities. Instrumental to the development of Japanese naval tactics was the Japanese Naval Staff College, founded in 1888. The college, still in its infancy during the Sino-Japanese War, was the foundation and promoter of revolutionary naval thought before the Russo-Japanese War.
The college taught naval theory, stressing naval historian Alfred Thayer Mahan's concept of decisive battle, while also emphasizing the practical application of naval tactics and the ability of officers to think and make decisions in the heat of battle. Japanese naval thinkers of the day used the existing body of Western naval thought, their own experience, and the results of extensive wargaming to shape their tactics. Central to the formation of naval tactics for the combined fleet was the assumption that Japanese warships would be faster and more maneuverable than those of their adversaries. Given what Japanese tacticians knew about their potential enemies' larger, heavier, older ships, this was not a flawed assumption.
In devising their tactics, the Japanese realized that the best position for achieving the maximum concentration of fires from their naval column was to place their column at a fight angle to that of the enemy, forming the cross bar of the letter T. As British Admiral Jackie Fisher noted during fleet maneuvers in 1901, "The lesson that has been emphasized is that the one all important, immediate imperative step is to form the fleet in one single line at right angles to the direction in which the enemy is sighted.... If both sides practice this golden rule and employ the single line of bearing then the fleet with the superior speed must win; that is, battleships of superior speed'.
Simply stated, the tactic of crossing the T of an enemy line of ships was the single best tactic that exploited "concentration of firepower". If anyone thinks line formations were not used in the 20th century, simply look at most of the photos that exist of steel ships in formations and in battle reports. Keith, please understand that I'm not 'jumping down your throat' in my long answer; it's more that your assertion got me wanting to explain my viewpoint to you and any others reading these discussions with some assertions of my own
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