Tribal-class destroyer crews saw themselves as an elite within an already demanding branch of the Royal Navy. Small crews expected every sailor to contribute and to help beyond a narrow specialism when another section was short-handed. The Tribals also had a specific fighting role: breaking a path through enemy destroyers so that accompanying destroyers could deliver their torpedo attacks. Their sense of status reinforced the expectation that they would lead those attacks. The SAS provides a parallel example, beginning in this account as a deception intended to alarm Axis forces in North Africa before an operational force had to live up to that image. Both examples show how an inherited or deliberately constructed reputation could set expectations for action.
Notable Point · 3:19-6:16
How Tribal destroyers and the SAS built operational identities
Tribal destroyer crews and the SAS illustrate how elite reputations gave servicemen concrete expectations about the jobs they were supposed to perform.