Crossing the T

In this animation, the ship near the top is crossing the T of the ship on the bottom.
The blue ships are crossing the T of the red ships
Blue crosses Red's T, animation

Crossing the T or capping the T is a classic naval warfare tactic used from the late 19th to the mid-20th centuries in which a line of warships crosses in front of a line of enemy ships to allow the crossing line to bring all their guns to bear while it receives fire from only the forward guns of the enemy.[1]

It became possible to bring all of a ship's main guns to bear only in the late 19th and the early 20th centuries, with the advent of steam-powered battleships with rotating gun turrets, which were able to move faster and turn more quickly than sailing ships, which had fixed guns facing sideways. Missiles and aircraft largely obsoleted this tactic as long-range strikes are less dependent on the direction the ships are facing.

  1. ^ Hughes, Wayne P. (2000). Fleet tactics and coastal combat. Naval Institute Press. p. 74. ISBN 978-1-55750-392-3.