Re: The Court Martial for the Denmark Strait
Posted: Wed Aug 22, 2018 9:51 am
Sigh! And so it goes on!
Gentlemen,
This debate is rapidly approaching 150 posts, I have the greatest respect for the knowledge and expertise that you have displayed in them, so let me ask a couple of final questions. it is all very well to quote the heroism of other ships captains who sacrificed their ships in one final battle but as you are all pretty expert in your evaluations please tell me how long you think PoW would have survived against two powerful ships with a combined output of 16 guns plus of course PE's torpedoes? There is a fine line between heroism and foolhardiness, it is all very well to sacrifice yourself'and be awarded a posthumous VC but quite another to take another 1400 or so people with you and lose a valuable ship for little result. Personally, I think that once PoW started having gun problems she did not have a chance in hell of defeating the combination of Bismark and PE and Capt Leach knew it, so he made the only the sensible decision available to him and disengaged in order to save his ship and crew. Cowardice? No way! A decision by an experienced Captain? Certainly!
Second question, what do you think the effect on the Admiralty and the population in general if two of their capital ships had been destroyed, so say nothing about the massive publicity Dr Goebbels would have made about it? So in your expert opinions, would it have still been worth it?
Gentlemen,
This debate is rapidly approaching 150 posts, I have the greatest respect for the knowledge and expertise that you have displayed in them, so let me ask a couple of final questions. it is all very well to quote the heroism of other ships captains who sacrificed their ships in one final battle but as you are all pretty expert in your evaluations please tell me how long you think PoW would have survived against two powerful ships with a combined output of 16 guns plus of course PE's torpedoes? There is a fine line between heroism and foolhardiness, it is all very well to sacrifice yourself'and be awarded a posthumous VC but quite another to take another 1400 or so people with you and lose a valuable ship for little result. Personally, I think that once PoW started having gun problems she did not have a chance in hell of defeating the combination of Bismark and PE and Capt Leach knew it, so he made the only the sensible decision available to him and disengaged in order to save his ship and crew. Cowardice? No way! A decision by an experienced Captain? Certainly!
Second question, what do you think the effect on the Admiralty and the population in general if two of their capital ships had been destroyed, so say nothing about the massive publicity Dr Goebbels would have made about it? So in your expert opinions, would it have still been worth it?