The Tribals' aggressive fight at Narvik

The Norwegian defence of Narvik preceded the two Royal Navy destroyer actions, which explains why the battle numbering differs between British and Norwegian perspectives. Tribal crews treated the later action as revenge for friends in the H-class flotilla who had been lost fighting the German destroyers. They regarded the heavy German destroyers as their proper rivals and pressed the attack so fiercely that the admiral leading them eventually stopped trying to hold them back. HMS Cossack drove into the harbour during the fighting. HMS Eskimo charged toward the surviving opponents and lost her bow to a torpedo, yet her remaining gun crews kept firing. She then moved stern-first while more British destroyers came up, turning severe damage into an example of the class's aggressive flotilla ethos.