The Tribals did not need to be ideal all-purpose destroyers to create strategic value. Their speed, armament, and limited endurance fit the Dover Patrol's rapid-response mission, so the Royal Navy could keep longer-ranged ships with the Grand Fleet or assign them to convoy and anti-submarine work. This is a force-structure lesson rather than a claim that every compromise was desirable. A sufficiently large navy can exploit a specialized class by matching it to the theater where its strengths matter and its weaknesses cost least.
Notable Point · 40:41-41:40
Specialist Dover ships free destroyers for the main fleet
A large navy gains flexibility when a short-ranged class can own Channel response work and release other destroyers for fleet, convoy, and anti-submarine duties.