The Tribal solution differed from German gun-heavy destroyers. Larger individual shells could damage a lightly protected cruiser, but their low rate of fire left the destroyer exposed to faster-firing cruiser batteries and to destroyers throwing many more rounds. The Tribal concept retained destroyer-calibre weapons and multiplied rapid-fire barrels. Usable volume of fire and platform balance could therefore matter more than the nominal calibre of a single gun.
Notable Point · 2:16:47-2:18:07
Why cruiser-calibre guns did not make a better destroyer
German attempts to place cruiser-calibre weapons on destroyer hulls sacrificed rate of fire without giving the ships a reliable answer to light cruisers.