The British shipbuilder Yarrows's design was based on Ambuscade, a prototype destroyer built for the Royal Navy in 1926.

[2] Portuguese Dictator António de Oliveira Salazar gave a speech to commemorate the beginning of construction, thanking the navy minister for "choosing to name this unit of our fleet after the river that crosses my town.

The destroyers carried enough fuel oil to give them a range of 5,400 nautical miles (10,000 km; 6,200 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph).

As the ships were leaving the Tejo estuary they were fired upon by the batteries from the forts and both Afonso de Albuquerque and Dão received direct hits and were grounded.

After the mutiny was put down the government claimed that the sailors had prepared to sail to Spain in order to assist the Spanish Republic.