Q&A · 25:26-26:26

Did destroyers carry Royal Marines?

A viewer asks whether Royal Navy destroyers, especially the Tribals, carried Marines.

Question

Did Royal Navy destroyers, especially Tribal-class ships, carry Royal Marines?

Short answer

Usually not in large detachments, but foreign-station destroyers and Tribal boarding parties could include Marines; larger ships carried them more regularly.

Notes

A large Marine detachment was unusual on destroyers, although ships on foreign stations could carry Marines. Gunboats overseas might also embark them because boarding and shore duties mattered there. Tribal-class destroyers planned to use Marines in boarding actions, making the class a specific exception to the usual pattern. Cruisers and larger ships more routinely carried substantial Marine parties, often including men assigned to a turret.