Why Tribal-class destroyers stayed with the fleet

What displacement and design features let a destroyer keep up with capital ships in rough seas?

A Tribal-sized ship of roughly 2,000 tons full load, with modern machinery, freeboard, and rough-water design, could cope far better than smaller destroyers.

The Bismarck sortie illustrates why displacement alone cannot establish a destroyer's rough-weather limit. The larger Tribal class had more mass to drive through waves than the ordinary destroyers accompanying Hood and Prince of Wales. The comparison uses roughly 2,000 tons fully loaded as an approximate Tribal figure, alongside better freeboard and a hull suited to rough water. Modern, powerful machinery also mattered, while older cruisers could suffer from the age of their engines. Germany's lighter First World War torpedo boats faced more restrictive conditions than Royal Navy destroyers.