Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Q&A · 1:47:10-1:48:50

The wartime risk behind fitted-for-but-not-with

Possible Tribal-class torpedo additions survive as sketches of uncertain status, while deferred equipment carried the risk that war would begin before installation.

Fitted For But Not WithNaval TreatiesTorpedoesTribal Class Destroyers (1936)Warship Design
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Question

How might fitted-for-but-not-with have applied to Tribal-class destroyers?

Short answer

Space could be reserved for extra torpedo equipment, but the surviving sketches may be private ideas and the navy could not assume time to install omitted equipment before war.

Notes

Sketches suggest Tribal-class arrangements with additional torpedo launchers, reloads, and sometimes automated loading systems. Their status is uncertain: they were found in only one source and could be a naval architect's personal sketches rather than an official proposal. Better-established cruiser armor provisions show that deferred equipment was part of interwar design thinking. The Royal Navy remained wary because a crisis might leave no time to install what had been omitted. Fitted-for-but-not-with therefore depends on whether the equipment can actually be added before the ship has to fight.