In the illustration, the ship near the top is crossing the "T" of the ship on the bottom.
or
Crane Wing Formation is a classic
naval warfare tactic attempted first used by Admiral
Yi Sun Shin, then used from the late 16th until mid 20th century, in which a line of
warships crossed in front of a line of enemy ships, allowing the crossing line to bring all their guns to bear while receiving fire from only the forward guns of the enemy. It only became possible to bring
all of a ship's guns to bear in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries with the advent of steam-powered battleships with rotating gun turrets, which were able to move faster and turn quicker than sailing ships, which had fixed guns facing sideways. The tactic became obsolete with the introduction of
missiles and
aircraft as long-range strikes are not dependent on the direction the ships are facing.
Tactics
When going into battle, ships would assume a
battle line formation called "line astern", in which one vessel followed another in one or more parallel lines. This allowed each ship to fire over wide arcs without lofting
salvoes above friendly vessels. Each ship in the line generally engaged its opposite number in the enemy battle line.
The blue ships are crossing the T of the red ships
Steaming with the enemy off to the side (by crossing the T) enabled a ship to launch salvoes at the same target with both the forward and rear turrets, maximizing the chances for a hit. It also made ranging error less critical for the ship doing the crossing, while simultaneously more critical for the ship being crossed. In military terms, this is known as
enfilade fire. The tactic, designed for heavily armed and armored battleships, was used with varying degrees of success with more lightly armed and armored
cruisers and
heavy cruisers.
Advances in gun manufacture and
fire-control systems allowed engagements at increasingly long range, from approximately 6,000 yards (5500 m) at the
Battle of Tsushima in 1905 to 20,000 yards (18 000 m) at the
Battle of Jutland in 1916. The introduction of
brown powder, which burned less rapidly than
black powder, allowed longer barrels, which allowed greater accuracy; and because it expanded less sharply than black powder, it put less strain on the insides of the barrel, allowing guns to last longer and to be manufactured to tighter tolerances. The addition of
radar allowed World War II ships to fire farther, more accurately, and at night.
Battles
Notable battles in which warships crossed the T include:
In the two previous campaigns, the Koreans had either met the Japanese ships in a straight battle line or, if space was limited, with a circular or rolling method of attack, where their ships attacked in relays to sustain a continuous bombardment. Although these tactics were effective, considerable numbers of Japanese had escaped and swum ashore. The crane wing formation was designed to not just sink ships, but to annihilate the enemy without losing a lot of men.
The formation itself resembled a "U" shape, with the heaviest battleships in the center and lighter ships on the wings. Reserves were placed behind the central ships and would plug gaps as the formation expanded. Ships at the front of the formation would face broadsides to maximize the number of cannons that would be aimed at the enemy. Furthermore, the "U" shape itself would allow for interlocking fields of fire so that many Japanese ships would be enfiladed and hit from several angles. In this sense the Crane Wing formation shared similarities with the late 19th and early 20th century battleship tactic of 'Crossing the T'.
- Battle of Lissa (1866) - The Austrians allowed the Italian fleet to cross the T in order to get within ramming distance.
- Battle of Jutland (1916) —Admiral Sir John Jellicoe, leader of the British Grand Fleet, was able to cross the T twice against the German High Seas Fleets, but the German Fleet was both times able to escape by reversing course in poor visibility. Although the High Seas Fleet was thereby rendered strategically impotent, being unwilling to face the Grand Fleet again, the British were unable to gain the crushing "Second Trafalgar" they had desired. Jutland is sometimes referred to as the Battle of Lost Opportunities.
- Battle of Surigao Strait (1944)—The last time a battle line crossed the T, this engagement took place in the Philippines during World War II. Early on October 25, 1944, Rear Admiral Jesse B. Oldendorf was guarding the southern entrance to the Leyte Gulf at the northern end of Surigao Strait. He commanded a line of six battleships (West Virginia, Tennessee, California, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Mississippi), flanked by numerous heavy and light cruisers. A smaller Japanese force under Vice Admiral Shoji Nishimura came up the strait, aware of the formidable strength of the American force but nonetheless pressing on. Half of Nishimura's fleet was eliminated by the Americans' destroyer torpedoes, but the Japanese admiral continued on with his remaining few ships. Oldendorf's battleships were arrayed in a line, and they unleashed their radar-directed firepower upon Japanese vessels, whose return fire was ineffectual due to the lack of radar fire control and earlier damage suffered. Nishimura went down with his ship. This was the last time the 'T' was crossed in an engagement between battleships, and was history's last occasion in which one battleship fired its main armament at another.
See also
