WWII Naval Action: I Trivia Quiz

Answer: Pocket Battleship

The most famous of Panzerschiffe was the Graf Spee, which lead a massive merchant destruction campaign which was eventually put down by Allied surface action. The Treaty of Versailles (1919) had placed severe restrictions on the German navy. Among other things, Germany was not allowed to have any warship of over 10,000 tons.

Hence the emphasis on building rather small ships with massive firepower.

Answer: Norway

The Battle of Narvik showed how torpedo attacks in enclosed harbors are effective against concentrated numbers of enemy vessels. The British released their torpedoes into the harbor and damaged more than a dozen merchantmen, damaged many enemy destroyers, and blew up Kommodore Bonte's flagship, the Wilhelm Heidkamp with the Kommodore on board.

Answer: Warburton-Lee

Bernard Armitage Warburton Warburton-Lee (1895-1940) was awarded the Victoria Cross which is the most prestigious award for gallantry in action. He was killed during the battle.

Answer: Beached

The vessel was commanded by the German hero of the action: Korvetten-kapitaen Wolff who seriously delayed the British by fighting to the last shell.

Answer: Tirpitz

The vessel was "sunk at the source", which means that it was destroyed at its home port. During World War II, the German Kriegsmarine (navy) did not gain real superiority. Instead, they relied on U-Boats and breakouts by surface vessels to destroy Britain's limited merchant vessels. Eventually, the Germans decided to put their vessels in port just to tie the British forces down.

Then came the growing use of the phrase "sunk at the source".

Answer: X-Craft

There were six X-craft deployed against the Tirpitz; X-5, X-6, X-7, X-8, X-9, and X-10, all of which were midget submarines. None made it back after the attack.

Answer: False

Torpedoes would have been the weapon of choice. However, torpedo nets were placed around the vessel, which made a torpedo attack impractical.

Answer: Hipper

Other ships in this class included the Bluecher, Prinz Eugen, Seydlitz, and Luetzow. These were some of the best cruisers in Germany's small arsenal.

Answer: AP

These shells - armor piercing - were usually 1,600 pounds and are used to pierce the enemy vessel's armored belt (which is usually thicker than 2"). For use against lightly armored units such as destroyers, HC (high capacity) explosive rounds were fired to maximize splinter damage. AP rounds would not work so well because the rounds will go in one side and pass out the other.

Answer: Reconnaisance

Torpedo bombers were usually also deployed as reconnaisance as for the British did not think of aircraft as anti-vessel units until they were proven useful during the raid on Taranto. In fact they are officially called Torpedo-Bomber-Reconnaisance aircraft.