The case for retaining C- and D-class cruisers rests on replacement-age rules and the possibility of keeping useful older hulls as new ships entered service. Their original single 6-inch batteries had become less suitable for fleet screening, while convoys and other formations needed more air defense. Conversion replaced that armament with rapid-firing 4-inch guns and pom-poms, with different ships receiving different combinations of single and multiple mounts. Electrical upgrades for equipment such as radar reduced the space available for fuel and lowered quoted endurance. These rebuilt ships had a dedicated AA-escort role, while Didos and Atlantas still needed to fight light surface forces as part of a wider screening mission.
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C- and D-class conversions were the dedicated AA cruisers
Older British screening cruisers became genuine AA specialists when their obsolete 6-inch layouts were replaced by rapid-firing 4-inch and pom-pom batteries.