Warships - Death at Sea

May 31st 1916, off the coast of Denmark. 100 German battleships engage the British navy. The Brits are spotted around 5 30 PM, 19 kms away. Brits have 150 ships. This is the biggest naval battle in history to date.

WW II features aircraft carriers, battle cruisers, destroyers, submarines. Naval battles play out on surface, underwater and in the air. Carriers are a game changer. U-boats come up against Allied destroyers in the Atlantic, who are armed with hedgehogs and depth charges. Submarines had seconds to escape after being detected.

Nuclear age brings nuclear-powered naval forces: carriers, submarines, frigates. In 1955, the first nuclear-powered submarine allowed crew to remain underwater forever. They can now launch ballistic missiles underwater, which are equipped with nuclear warheads. They can strike anywhere in the world and be undetected. So, navies improve their listening systems, including underwater sonar cables, towed arrays on helicopters. Destruction was mutually assured, and that was the only true deterrence.

As the 21st century arrives, technology takes center stage in marine warfare. The Soviet Union has collapsed and US are unchallenged on the seas. Drones. Terrorism emerges as a new enemy. China is a rising power. Russia is a developing a nuclear armed and nuclear-powered torpedo, that can travel 1000's of kms to strike its target.