Bagley paired long range with a mass torpedo attack

The Bagley class used the Mahan machinery arrangement rather than the Gridley's less economical plant. Four Babcock and Wilcox boilers and double-reduction turbines produced about 36 knots and just under 7,000 nautical miles of range at 12 knots. Four 5-inch/38 guns and sixteen torpedo tubes preserved the heavy broadside shared with Gridley and Benham. In a squadron attack, several ships could put dozens of torpedoes into the water, forcing evasive manoeuvres even before any weapon hit. Task groups needed enough sea room for those turns, so the close formations used for photographs did not reflect combat spacing and a panicked manoeuvre could cause a collision. The torpedo weight left little room for anti-aircraft additions, and wartime refits had to work around the battery rather than remove it. Before computer simulation, construction itself was part of the experiment. Designers had to build the machinery and weapons package, test it at sea, and carry the results into the next class. Three Bagleys were lost in combat, while the survivors remained active across the Pacific and combined endurance with striking power.