Why Amazon became the preferred prototype

Amazon and Ambuscade tested competing designs for the new interwar destroyer force. Both combined six 21-inch torpedo tubes with four 4.7-inch guns, whose mounts were described as theoretically suitable for both surface and anti-aircraft work. Amazon's initial trial speed of 34.5 knots rose to 37.5 knots after modifications, and her design became the basis for the succeeding classes before the Tribals. Internal arrangements also mattered: Amazon offered larger, more accessible spaces that eased maintenance and crew work. Ambuscade's tighter spaces were judged less comfortable on hot, long-range deployments and more difficult to maintain, although the comparison gives them a slight survivability advantage. The preference for Amazon rests on the combination of a design that could be improved in trials and a more practical working layout.