Speed was the central Caldwell requirement, and four of the six ships reached about 32 knots while the two three-shaft ships made roughly 30. The class tested two- and three-shaft layouts and direct-drive turbines. One arrangement is tentatively described as electrically reduced and related to later American turbo-electric practice. The continuous flush deck distinguished the class from the raised-forecastle thousand-tonners. Four 4-inch/50 guns, a 3-inch/23 gun, and four triple 21-inch torpedo launchers supplied the armament. Several ships later served through World War II, with Craven, Conner, and Stockton transferring to the Royal Navy as HMS Lewes, HMS Leeds, and HMS Ludlow. These machinery and hull experiments supplied a template for the expanded destroyer program.
Chapter · 33:21-37:42
Caldwell-class experiments produced the flush-deck template
The six Caldwell-class destroyers tested flush decks, shaft layouts, turbine arrangements, speed, and heavy torpedo armament before mass construction.