How They Became Legends (Part 4 of 8)

Continued from Part 4…

Interwar Doctrine and the Submarine School

For submarines, the doctrine during the interwar period was marked by rapidly evolving technology and the need for innovative and resourceful leaders to capitalize on the changes in submarine warfare. The fleet problems provided foreshadowing into the problems involving submerged approaches to targets and the subsequent torpedo attacks. Officiants to these exercises often failed to appreciate and understand the aspects of torpedo engagements and often assigned arbitrary estimations of the effective “hits” of the notional weapons as 30% based on their own personal judgement.^[1] Similarly, the lack of effective background in submarine operations by senior surface commanders were influenced by the limitations of the rules established for these fleet problems to promote the “absolute necessity for submarines in smooth water to conduct their attacks from deep submergence using sound equipment only.”^[2] This pervasive optimism, coupled with the…