Better guns could reduce Royal Navy losses at Dunkirk, Norway, and in the Mediterranean, with some historical sinkings becoming repairable damage. A Tribal already carried eight 4.7-inch guns, so an 80-degree mount would turn a proven surface combatant into a powerful fleet anti-aircraft escort. That capability could justify rapid repeat orders while Dido-class cruisers remained scarce. The proposed L70 development added two quintuple torpedo mountings, though production pressure might favour the simpler Tribal layout that yards already knew. HMS Afridi provides the operational test because her low-angle guns could not bear on dive bombers in Norway; full elevation would force the attackers through heavy fire during their approach.
Chapter · 34:02-39:45
Tribal destroyers against Norway's dive bombers
The Tribal class becomes the clearest early-war test: high-angle main guns could have made its eight 4.7-inch weapons a much stronger answer to dive-bombing attacks.