"Crossing the T" is a naval
tactic that goes back to the day of
sail. At this time, due to poor communications,
battle groups would sail in the
fighting column formation. This allowed the
flagship to lead a battle group that stretched for miles by a simple "follow me." The goal of the fighting column was to maneuver your line of ships across the
bow of your opponent, forming a T. This allowed you to bring all your
flank guns to bear on the enemy while they could only return fire with the smaller
bow guns. This tactic was used well into
WWI and
WWII, including the decisive
Battle of Jutland and the battle for the
Coral Sea.
Today the Fighting Column and "Crossing the T" are alive only in Naval history books, with modern weapons such as the 688 submarine, Harpoon anti-ship missiles and aircraft carriers most battles take place from great distances, the opposing forces almost never see each other.
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