Unlike torpedo-centered destroyers, the Tribals adopted a cruiser-like layout with eight 4.7-inch guns in four twin mountings and fewer torpedo tubes. The heavy battery was intended to overmatch enemy destroyers and gave the ships a credible way to fight larger warships. They retained a quadruple bank of 21-inch torpedoes for attacks on major ships and carried depth charges for anti-submarine work. Their anti-aircraft outfit was respectable by mid-1930s destroyer standards, then quickly looked inadequate once the Second World War began. For its era, the Fuze Keeping Clock Mark II was comparable to an Aegis system because it greatly improved targeting. The combined fit made a Tribal dangerous in more kinds of encounter than a conventional torpedo-centered destroyer.
Notable Point · 3:05-5:08
Gun-heavy layout and advanced fire control
A tour of the Tribals' cruiser-like gun layout shows how guns, torpedoes, depth charges, anti-aircraft weapons, and modern fire control created a broad threat profile.