The comparison turns on concentrated firepower rather than destroyers as a generic category. The H-class ships carried single 4.7-inch mountings, while the later British force included four Tribals operating together. That pack could withstand an ambush that had overwhelmed the earlier formation and continue pressing the attack. The change in British force composition helps explain why the next action unfolded so differently.
Notable Point · 2:51-3:23
Four Tribal-class destroyers change the odds
Four heavily armed Tribal-class destroyers were far harder to overwhelm than the H-class ships that the Germans had defeated earlier.