HMS Cossack's interception of the German supply ship Altmark is a concrete example of economic warfare and boarding work. Sailors crossed during a confused close-quarters action, and the surviving accounts leave open whether cruiser personnel in the boarding party carried cutlasses. A Tribal could manoeuvre in the confined fjord more readily than a larger cruiser. Its destroyer classification also created a smaller political footprint when British forces entered Norwegian territorial waters against Norwegian objections. The mission's immediate aim was to free British prisoners carried by Altmark.
Notable Point · 12:09-15:59
HMS Cossack and the Altmark incident
The Altmark boarding illustrates how a Tribal destroyer could perform an assertive cruiser duty in confined Norwegian waters without the larger political footprint of a cruiser.