Arethusa, Dido, and the cost of fitting more into a smaller cruiser

Arethusa's relationship with Leander is disputed: one view treats it as a scaled-down design, while another stresses replacement of some C-class cruisers in a destroyer-support role. Dido takes the development further with 5.25-inch guns on an Arethusa-derived hull. Four turrets are preferred to squeezing in five, with larger gunhouses and more pom-poms suggested as improvements. A proposed anti-aircraft cruiser on a Town hull would instead carry eight 5.25-inch turrets. Continuing the larger third-generation Towns is preferred to the more compact Crown Colonies, though the need to build many cruisers quickly explains the attraction of a smaller design.