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Crossed The TCrossing the "T" is a Naval tactic made possible by the advent of turreted ships and steam power. When large gun armed ships (Battleships, mainly) were the most important ships of the day, and it was usual to have large numbers of them. When going into battle, they would, if they were not already, assume a formation called "line astern". One battleship follows another. It gave you the ability to fire over wide arcs without having to worry about firing over your own ships. This was important because the fire control of the day was optical. Also note that the ranges were fairly long, going from 6000 yards or so for the battle of Tsushima strait (1905) to 10,000 yards at the Battle of Jutland (1916) and beyond. Each ship in the line engaged its opposite number in the opposing battle line. Steaming with the enemy off to the side allowed you to use both the forward and rear turrets at the same time, maximizing your chances for a hit with any particular salvo. Crossing the "T" is when you manage, using manuver and or speed, to put the enemy line such that they form the stalk of the "T" ( the upright ), and your line is the cap of the "T". You can fire all your guns, your enemy can only fire some of his guns, as the far side turrets would be unable to fire through the ship ( indeed, they cannot be brought to bear on the enemy ). It can be difficult to imagine how this can be made to happen. One way is to suppose that one fleet can steam at say 10 knots, and the other at 15. The 15 knot fleet can get ahead of the enemy fleet and then turn to cap. This tactic was used in the Battle of Tsushima by the Japanese Admiral Togo effectively for just this reason.
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