NEW DESTROYERS

Waikato Independent, Volume XL, Issue 3663, 3 February 1940, Page 3

NEW DESTROYERS

FOR AUSTRALIAN NAVY LIKE MINIATURE CRUISERS Defence authorities are delighted with the rapid progress being made at Cockatoo Island, Sydney, in building the first two of the three Tribal class destroyers ordered for liie Royal Australian Navy at a cost of £3,521,700. The new Tribals are actually "cruiser destroyers" capable of operating as independent units on trade defence patrols. They will be of high value in defending Australian trade routes,. "A Tribal class destroyer could be most effective against a heavier German raider," said an Australian naval expert recently. "It could shadow the enemy and attack at night, or in conditions of low visibility, with a considerable chance of success." Very heavily gunned for ships of their size, the Tribals are intended to fight primarily with gun armament, rather than with torpedoes, as is the case with smaller destroyers. But they carry some torpedo tubes. Their guns are mounted in pairs in turrets, similar to the arrangement of the main armament of the "Achilles" or "Leander."