Smoke screens were a fairly common part of surface combat, used to cover an attack, disrupt enemy gunnery or conceal a retreating force. At sea, there is little bar rain or mist that can hide a force from a visual observer. At a time when radar was in its infancy, smoke was vital as a way to hide the movements of a ship, a flotilla or a fleet. Smoke could be produced either by adjusting the amount of oxygen allowed into the boilers, increasing the amount of soot produced, or by using chemical smoke-producing systems.

The Royal Navy's doctrine for destroyers making torpedo attacks encouraged the use of smoke. They could use the smoke to conceal their approach, emerge from the smoke to launch torpedoes, and then withdraw under the cover of the smoke. Similar tactics were used by Coastal Forces torpedo boats for making attacks. Rather than using her smoke screen to evade Hipper, Glowworm used her initial screen to achieve a position where a torpedo attack was possible. She emerged from the smoke to launch her torpedoes, then turned away to withdraw. Similarly, during the sinking of HMS Glorious, the British destroyer Acasta used her smoke screen to get into a position to launch a salvo of torpedoes at Scharnhorst, as well as screening Glorious' retreat. During the Second Battle of Sirte, the British destroyer squadron made major use of smoke to cover their movement onto the flanks of the Italian force, before withdrawing under a smoke screen after they had fired their torpedoes. The presence of destroyers in a smoke screen could act as a barrier, deterring an opponent away. During the Battle off Calabria in 1940, Admiral Cunningham's report noted that

signals from the enemy were intercepted saying that he was 'constrained to retire', ordering his flotillas to make smoke, to attack with torpedoes, and also a warning that they were approaching the submarine line. These signals, together with my own appreciation of the existing situation, made it appear unwise and playing the enemy's own game to plunge straight into the smokescreen.

Similarly, during the Battle of the Barents Sea, the smoke screen laid down by the British destroyers under Captian Sherbrooke proved an effective deterrent against Hipper's attempt to close in on the British convoy.

For much of the Second World War, gunnery depended heavily on optical rangefinding. This largely required a good, unobstructed view of the target. A smoke screen would heavily disrupt this, making incoming (and outgoing) fire inaccurate. This could be used in several ways by a force that wished to continue an ongoing engagement. At the Battle of the River Plate the German large cruiser Graf Spee was attacked by the British heavy cruiser Exeter and the light cruisers Achilles and Ajax, approaching along a different bearing from Exeter. Captain Langsdorff used smoke several times during the battle to obscure the lines of sight to the two British light cruisers, allowing Graf Spee to focus on Exeter relatively uninterrupted. Going back to the Second Battle of Sirte, the British cruisers under Admiral Vian set up a major smoke screen. The cruisers then used this screen as cover, popping out to fire off a few salvoes, then ducking back into the smoke once the heavier Italian gunnery began to focus on them.

The most obvious, and likely most common, use of smoke, was to cover the retreat of a ship, force or convoy. The smoke helped to conceal the direction the fleeing unit was moving,and to protect it from gunfire as it did so. At the Second Battle of Sirte, the AA cruiser Carlisle and escort destroyer Avon Vale were detailed to lay smoke to cover the British convoy as it withdrew away from the attacking Italian force. When Glorious was attacked by Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, the destroyers Acasta and Ardent used smoke in a vain attempt to cover her withdrawal, an effort described by the German commander as 'skilfully effected'. When convoy HX84 was attacked by the large cruiser Admiral Scheer, the Armed Merchant Cruiser Jervis Bay closed in to make a desperate but futile attack on her; as she did so, she laid a smoke screen to cover the scattering of the convoy. During the Action off Gavdos, which preceded the Battle of Cape Matapan, and found British light forces surprised by a heavier Italian force, the British cruisers and destroyers laid a smoke screen to cover their withdrawal towards the British battlefleet. Unfortunately, the cruiser Gloucester, lying at the windward end of the British line, was left exposed and was the target of heavy Italian fire; fortunately, no hits were scored. The British used smoke repeatedly against Bismarck. Prince of Wales and Norfolk used it to disengage after the Battle of the Denmark Strait, while Sheffield used smoke to withdraw after she inadvertently moved into gunfire range of Bismarck following the last air attack by Ark Royal's aircraft.