German destroyers and the Narvik losses

Germany began the war with twenty-two destroyers and had lost half of that force by the end of the Narvik campaign. Two earlier destroyer losses followed Luftwaffe misidentification during a minelaying operation. At Narvik, damage restricted tactical choices, while repeated losses of officers and crews weakened coordination. The destroyer arm had expanded too recently to accumulate much experience before war began. Its ships were intended to escort capital ships and surface raiders into the North Atlantic, but even the original force was too small for those commitments. Early losses made that shortage substantially worse.