Swedish destroyer seizure and tactical restraint

A commenter reconstructs the British seizure of four destroyers that Sweden had purchased to strengthen its navy. The lightly crewed Swedish ships were short of fuel and could bring only two 10-centimeter guns to bear against three fully crewed Tribal-class destroyers. Their squadron commander surrendered rather than fight for the flag in a tactically hopeless position, a decision that damaged his career at home. Resisting might have satisfied honor, but it would have been a poor operational choice. The ships were returned ten days later, leaving the incident as an example of how maritime coercion could threaten relations with an armed neutral.