Tribal - class destroyer ( 1936 ) The Tribal class , or " Afridi " class , were a class of destroyer s built for the Royal Navy , Royal Canadian Navy and Royal Australian Navy that saw service in World War II . Originally conceived as a failed design for a light fleet cruiser , the Tribals evolved into fast , powerful destroyers , with greater emphasis on guns over torpedoes than previous destroyers , in response to new designs by Japan , Italy , and Germany . The Tribals were well admired by their crews and the public when they were in service due to their power , often becoming symbols of prestige while in service . As some of the Royal Navy ' s most modern and powerful escort ships , the Tribal class served with distinction in nearly all theatres of World War II . Only a handful of Royal Navy Tribals survived the war , all of which were subsequently scrapped from hard use , while Commonwealth Tribals continued to serve into the Cold War , serving with distinction in the Korean War . Only one Tribal survives to this day : , which is now a museum ship in Hamilton Harbour , Ontario , Canada . Design history . From 1926 , all Royal Navy destroyers had descended from a common lineage based upon the prototypes and . During the interwar period , advances in armament and machinery meant that by the mid - 1930s , these " interwar standard " destroyers were being eclipsed by foreign designs , particularly from Japan , Italy , and Germany . To counteract this trend , the Admiralty decided on a new destroyer type , with an emphasis on gunnery over torpedo warfare . The destroyer was based on ' Design V ' , a failed design for a small fleet cruiser ( another variant of this design evolved into the ) . This design envisioned a 1 , 850 - ton ship with a speed of , an endurance of , and five twin 4 . 7 inch guns as main armament . Although the design was rejected for the fleet cruiser role , by August 1935 , after no less than eight design proposals , it had evolved to present a destroyer with eight 4 . 7 inch Quick Firing Mark XII guns , in four twin mountings , with a maximum elevation of 40° , controlled by a low - angle ( LA ) director and high - angle / low - angle ( HA / LA ) rangefinder director on the bridge . To provide close in anti - aircraft protection , the design was fitted with a quadruple Mark VII QF 2 pdr " pom pom " mounting , and two quadruple Vickers . 50 - inch machine guns . These ships introduced the Fuze Keeping Clock High Angle Fire Control Computer , which was used on all subsequent British wartime destroyers . The ships were also armed with a quadruple bank of torpedo tubes . They were considered to be handsome ships , with a clipper bow that provided excellent seakeeping and two raked funnels and masts . They are remembered with great affection to this day . The Tribals were so much larger and differed so much from other British destroyers in service that the resurrection of the corvette classification was considered for them . This did not go ahead , and by 1939 , the Tribals were classified as destroyers , with the corvette designation going to mass - produced anti - submarine escorts such as the . Construction . The Royal Navy placed an order for seven Tribals on 10 March 1936 , with a second group of nine Tribals ordered on 9 June for two flotillas ' worth of ships . The Royal Australian Navy and Royal Canadian Navy both ordered a flotilla of Tribals . The eight Australian ships were to be built in Australian shipyards . Three were completed , two in 1942 and one in 1945 , but the rest were cancelled . The Canadian order was for four ships from British yards in 1940 ( completed in 1942 and 1943 ) and another four from Canadian yards at Halifax in 1942 . The latter were not completed until after the war . Between 1937 and 1945 , twenty - seven Tribals were built . Estimated cost per ship was around £340 , 000 excluding weaponry , and £520 , 000 overall . Modifications . Wartime modifications . The Royal Navy equipped the Tribal class with a comparatively heavy anti - aircraft armament ; all eight 4 . 7in guns could engage aircraft with predicted fire using the FKC computer , and thus provide a powerful augmentation to the battle - fleet ' s AA defence . The close range AA armament of a quad 2pdr and two quad Vickers machine guns was a marked advance over previous destroyer classes and heavier than most other nation ' s close range destroyer armament in 1939 . However , prewar , the Royal Navy assumed that destroyers would be acting mainly as escorts for the battle - fleet , and would not be the primary focus of aerial attack . Events soon showed that destroyers often functioned independently and so became the main target of Luftwaffe attack , especially by dive bombers . After the loss of " Afridi " and " Gurkha " , the remaining ships were taken in hand to improve the situation . Each ship ' s ' X ' turret , which held a mounting , was removed and replaced by a twin gun QF Mark XVI on the mounting HA / LA Mark XIX . The mainmast was cut down and the rear funnel was lowered to improve the arcs of fire for the anti - aircraft weapons . As they became available , the more effective 20 mm Oerlikon guns were added , at first adding to and eventually replacing the machine guns . Depth charge storage was also increased , from 30 to 46 charges . Furthermore , the class initially had problems with leaks in feedwater tanks ; this was traced to issues with the turbine blades caused by structural stress when steaming at high speed in rough weather . By 1944 , the four surviving British Tribals were given a tall lattice foremast to carry Radar Type 293 target indication and Type 291 air warning , with Type 285 radar added to the rangefinder - director . The last four Canadian Tribals built were equipped with eight QF 4 - inch Mk XVI naval gun s and four to six Bofors 40 mm gun s as standard . Post - war modifications . Post war , survivors of the class met different fates : Royal Navy Tribals were retired by the 1950s , while Tribals in service with the Australian and Canadian navies continued in service , with many refitted as anti - submarine destroyers . The British - built Canadian Tribals landed their guns , and received a pair of QF 4 - inch Mk XVI naval gun s in twin mounts in the ' A ' and ' B ' positions instead , improving anti - aircraft capabilities , a pair of Squid mortars for anti - submarine warfare , and a twin 3 inch / 50 Mark 33 gun on the ' X ' position as an anti - aircraft weapon . Sensors were also upgraded for their new roles , and as refitted , Canadian Tribals continued to serve until the 1960s . Two of the Australian Tribals , " Arunta " and " Warramunga " , were modernised during the early 1950s . The aft - most gun mounting was removed , with the space modified to accommodate a Squid anti - submarine mortar . New sonar and radar units were fitted , the latter requiring the replacement of the tripod radar mast with a stronger lattice structure . Although the modernisation was intended to take less than six months per ship , it took two years for each ship to be refitted , by which time their modifications had already become obsolete . Financial restrictions meant that the third Australian Tribal , " Bataan " , was not modernised , and a combination of manpower shortages and rapid obsolescence saw all three ships decommissioned by the end of the 1950s . Service . As some of the Royal Navy ' s most modern and powerful escorts , they were widely deployed in World War II , and served with great distinction in nearly all theatres of war . The Tribals were often selected for special tasks and as a result , losses were heavy , with 12 of the 16 Royal Navy Tribals sunk , as well as one Canadian ship . " Gurkha " has the rare and unfortunate distinction of being the name of two ships that were sunk in World War II : the L - class destroyer was renamed to honour the lost Tribal - class ship , and was herself lost in 1942 . 1940 . " Cossack " earned fame early on in the war , when on 6 February 1940 , commanded by Captain Philip Vian , she pursued and then boarded the German tanker in neutral Norwegian waters in a daring attack to rescue around 300 British prisoners of war on board . Referred to as the Altmark Incident , this was the last true naval boarding action for the Royal Navy . " Gurkha " was an early loss , being sunk by German bombers off Stavanger . " Afridi " was lost soon afterwards to dive bombers while evacuating troops from Namsos . " Bedouin " , " Punjabi " , " Eskimo " and " Cossack " took part in the Second Battle of Narvik , where " Eskimo " had her bows blown off . 1941 . In May 1941 , " Somali " , " Bedouin " , and " Eskimo " , along with the N - class destroyer , and Royal Navy cruisers , , and boarded the German weather ship " München " , retrieving vital Enigma cypher codebooks . In the same month , " Zulu " , " Sikh " , " Cossack " , and " Maori " were in action against the , with " Mashona " being sunk by German aircraft during these operations . In the Mediterranean , " Mohawk " was lost as part of " Force K " , torpedoed by the Italian destroyer " Luca Tarigo " in April , while " Cossack " , " Sikh " , " Zulu " , and " Maori " took part in Operation Substance , a relief convoy heading to Malta . " Cossack " was torpedoed by in October while escorting Convoy HG 74 in the Atlantic , west of Gibraltar , sinking later under tow . " Maori " and " Sikh " were amongst the victors at the Battle of Cape Bon in December . " Bedouin " took part in Operation Archery , a British combined operations raid which diverted German resources to Norway for the rest of the war . 1942 . In 1942 , " Matabele " was torpedoed and sunk by in the Barents Sea and " Maori " was hit in the engine room by a bomb whilst lying in Grand Harbour , Valletta , in February , catching fire and later blowing up where she lay . " Punjabi " was rammed and sunk by the battleship in May , whilst performing close escort in thick weather . In June , " Bedouin " was disabled in action with Regia Marina ' s cruisers and during Operation " Harpoon " . Although later taken in tow by HMS " Partridge " the tow had to be cast when the Italian cruisers reappeared and , dead in the water , " Bedouin " was sunk by aircraft attack . In September , the final two Tribals lost in the Battle of the Mediterranean were sunk ; " Sikh " and " Zulu " during a disastrous raid on Tobruk . Also that month , " Somali " was torpedoed by while covering the returning Russian Convoy QP 14 . Although taken under tow by " Ashanti " , she sank four days later after heavy weather broke her back . This was the last Royal Navy Tribal lost during the war . 1943 . In 1943 , the four remaining British Tribals ( " Ashanti " , " Eskimo " , " Tartar " , and " Nubian " ) participated in Operation Retribution to prevent the Afrika Korps from being evacuated to Italy . " Tartar " , " Nubian " and " Eskimo " then covered the Allied invasion of Sicily . After the invasion of Sicily , the four remaining British Tribals then covered the Allied invasion of Italy at Salerno . " Ashanti " , and " Athabaskan " then covered Arctic convoy RA 55A , which was involved in the Battle of North Cape where the German battleship was sunk . At the same time , the two active Australian Tribals , " Arunta " and " Warramunga " , were attached to the joint Australian - American Task Force 74 and supported a series of landings in New Britain , and deployed to support a series of landings in Operation Cartwheel . The Canadian Tribals were also heavily engaged ; " Athabaskan " was hit by German glide bombs while conducting operations in the Bay of Biscay and was put out of action for almost three months , while " Haida " and " Huron " escorted the various Arctic convoys . 1944 . " Eskimo " , " Ashanti " , " Athabaskan " , " Haida " , " Huron " , " Nubian " , " Tartar " and later " Iroquois " saw extensive action in the English Channel before and after Operation Overlord , sinking or damaging a variety of enemy ships . In April , and engaged two s in the Channel . " Athabaskan " was sunk by a torpedo from " T24 " , while " Haida " pursued and forced aground " T - 27 " . Afterward , " Haida " returned and managed to rescue 42 personnel from " Athabaskan " . One of the under - construction Canadian Tribals was then renamed " Athabaskan " as a tribute to the lost ship . During the Normandy invasion , " Eskimo " , " Tatar " , " Ashanti " , " Haida " , and " Huron " sank , damaged , or drove ashore the " Elbing " - class torpedo boat " T - 24 " , the s " Z24 " and " Z32 " , and the ex - Dutch destroyer " Gerard Callenburgh " in a series of battles . Furthermore , " Haida " and " Eskimo " also sank the German U - boat with depth charges and close in gunfire , rescuing 53 survivors . Afterward , " Eskimo " was involved in a collision with the destroyer HMS " Javelin " , which kept " Eskimo " out of action for 5 months . After the Normandy invasion , " Nubian " was sent to screen Royal Navy Home Fleet units engaged in the protection of the Russian Convoy JW 59 , and carrier - based aerial attacks on the and elsewhere in Norway . " Iroquois " and " Haida " met up with the Free French cruiser which was sailing from Algiers to Cherbourg carrying members of the French Provisional Government . " Iroquois " then escorted the liner which was carrying the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill to the Second Quebec Conference . 1945 . " Eskimo " , " Nubian " , and " Tartar " were given some minor tropicalisation refits and were sent east to join the British Eastern Fleet in the Indian Ocean as the Atlantic war wound down . There , " Eskimo " , " Nubian " , and " Tartar " engaged in escort of the Royal Navy major surface units and shore bombardment . Afterward , " Nubian " , and " Tartar " were waiting as backup for Battle of the Malacca Strait , where the Japanese cruiser was sunk . " Eskimo " and " Nubian " were then engaged in anti - shipping patrols , sinking a Japanese merchant ship and a submarine chaser near Sumatra . This was the last Royal Navy surface action against shipping in World War II . In July , " Nubian " and " Tatar " prepared for Operation Zipper , the planned British landings in Malaya . During this period , the Canadian Tribals continued to be engaged ; " Haida " , " Huron " and " Iroquois " escorted Russian convoys until May 1945 , when Germany surrendered . The Canadian Tribals then engaged in the escort of British warships liberating Norway following the German surrender . " Iroquois " then joined the British cruisers , , and destroyer " Savage " at Copenhagen and headed to Wilhelmshaven , as escort for the surrendered German cruisers and . Following this , the Canadian Tribals then returned to Halifax harbour for tropicalisation refits , which were suspended when the Japanese surrendered , and were sent into reserve . Post - war . Twenty - three Tribal - class destroyers were constructed before and during World War II ; sixteen for the Royal Navy , four for the Royal Canadian Navy , and three for the Royal Australian Navy . Thirteen were lost during the war ; six British Tribals to aircraft attack , four British and one Canadian Tribal to torpedo attacks , one British Tribal to shore batteries off Tobruk , and one British Tribal in a collision with a British battleship . The surviving four British destroyers were paid off and sold for scrap during 1948 and 1949 , while the Australian and Canadian Tribals were refitted and modernised for post - war service . Four destroyers still under construction in Canada when World War II ended were completed and then modernised , while five ships under construction in Australia were cancelled . The Australian and Canadian ships , with the exception of " Micmac " , served during the Korean War , with " Bataan " at one point escorting a United States aircraft carrier with the same name . The Australian and Canadian Tribals continued in service until the late 1950s and early 1960s , when they were gradually decommissioned and sold for scrapping . Only one ship of the class has been preserved . was restored and is docked in Hamilton Harbour , Ontario , Canada as a museum ship . The bow of , sunk on 12 February 1942 by German aircraft , rests below sea level in Valletta ' s Marsamxett Harbour , Malta , and is a popular scuba diving site .