Q&A ยท 3:11:35-3:12:18

Four or five turrets for a later County-class cruiser?

A closing design question considers likely eight-inch-gun arrangements for an unbuilt later County-class or Surrey-class cruiser.

Question

If a later County-class cruiser with four or five twin eight-inch turrets had been built, which arrangement was more likely?

Short answer

Five twin turrets appear unlikely; the plausible alternatives are four twins, four triples, or a mixed ten-gun layout.

Notes

The answer is explicitly speculative because the ship was not completed. A recalled four-triple design makes a five-turret configuration look unlikely. A mixed arrangement of two triple and two twin turrets, preferably placing the triples forward and twins aft, is offered as another plausible route to ten guns.