The Tribal-class destroyers were to be powered by steam turbines and use oil-fuel rather than coal, and be capable of , but detailed design was left to the builders, which meant that individual ships of the class differed greatly.
The Tribal-class destroyers were designed to be propelled by steam turbines and use oil as fuel rather than coal, and they were expected to have specific capabilities. However, due to leaving detailed design to the shipbuilders, each vessel within the class differed greatly from the others.