The Royal Navy wanted enough destroyers to cover its commitments while keeping them manoeuvrable and distinct from cruisers. Small hulls seemed to stretch treaty tonnage across more ships. That calculation still had to account for service in the North Atlantic, Pacific, Indian Ocean, and Mediterranean, as well as the equipment required for each mission. Larger Japanese or American opponents could leave an undersized British design badly outclassed. Numbers bought through excessive economies in size could fail both operationally and tactically.
Chapter · 2:24-5:12
The cost of building small for numbers
The pre-Tribal design problem asked whether a larger number of small ships could remain effective on global routes against bigger opponents.