Meeting a treaty figure could mean cutting real fighting capability or understating what the ship weighed. Tribal-class figures varied among builders and changed with modifications, and none matched the supposed 1,850-ton limit even at standard displacement. The next 1,750-ton brief becomes an estimated 2,330-ton operational ship and needs a larger hull. Declared treaty tonnage therefore cannot be read as the weight of the completed ship ready for service.
Notable Point · 10:52-13:18
Navies understated destroyer tonnage under treaty limits
Builder variation, later modifications, and operating loads made declared destroyer limits a poor guide to the ships that went to sea.