Dual-purpose gun

They discarded the dedicated, anti-ship secondary batteries altogether, because a battle-line fleet would be screened against cruisers and destroyers most of the time.

Also, it was deemed unlikely that a battleship would be simultaneously facing both rushing destroyers and aircraft, and it would take up too much space to have separate types of guns to deal with both threats.

The space saved from combining the two types of guns added to simplification of supply, increased deck armour coverage, stowage of other equipment, a larger light anti-aircraft battery, and other needs.

For example, a Royal Navy battleship of the King George V class had sixteen QF Mark I 5.25-inch (133 mm) guns that could engage either enemy ships or high level aircraft, as necessary.

The daylight passage of the convoy and escort through this waterway, speed five knots, on a steady course and with mountains rising steeply either side, presented an alluring invitation to enemy aircraft.

Junkers attacks persisted to the end, but the fire of the destroyers, although limited to an elevation of forty degrees, was enough to keep the enemy just too high for their standard of marksmanship.