Why specifications alone misjudge wartime equipment

Treating one admired weapon as the standard for every design turns specification tables into false history. It ignores the conditions in which equipment and crews actually served. The Tribal-class destroyers would have benefited from 4.5-inch guns, more size, and more torpedoes. Their shortcomings did not prevent capable crews from doing effective work in the roles assigned to them. The example supports the broader Lend-Lease argument that useful mass-produced equipment should be judged by its operational contribution rather than paper perfection.