The Royal Navy needed enough cruisers to protect a large maritime trading network. During the 1930s it explored how little displacement a useful trade-protection cruiser could have. The Amphions grew from the same requirement as the Leanders. HMS Enterprise and her twin turret appear at the beginning of this design history.
Chapter · 7:59-9:16
A cruiser designed around trade protection
The Amphions emerged from the Royal Navy's interwar search for a cruiser small enough to protect global trade routes in useful numbers.