The Tribal class provides a counterexample to the simple demand for more ships. Before the Second World War, the Royal Navy was trying to rebuild cruiser numbers, so additional large destroyers were a less obvious use of its resources. More Tribals for the Royal Australian Navy and Royal Canadian Navy made greater sense within that allocation. Once wartime experience showed that cruiser strength could not reach the required level, the Royal Navy again needed larger destroyers, but by then a new design incorporating wartime lessons was preferable.
Notable Point · 39:19-40:05
Why the Royal Navy limited more Tribal-class destroyers
The Royal Navy prioritised rebuilding cruiser numbers before the war, while further Tribal-class ships made greater sense for the Australian and Canadian navies.