The cost of losing an older destroyer

Were old W-class destroyers more expendable than modern destroyers?

Losing one could be the less damaging choice if a loss were unavoidable, but the preference was still to preserve every ship.

If a commander had to lose either a W-class ship or a modern destroyer, the older vessel would probably be the less damaging loss. That relative value still leaves a reason to preserve it. Avoiding losses remains the preference, even when some ships are less costly to lose than others.