Three Mark 6 twin mountings gave the Darings six 4.5-inch guns able to engage both surface and air targets. The mount could elevate to roughly 80 degrees, reach about 20,000 yards against surface targets, and throw a shell to approximately 41,000 feet. The passage traces the unrealized ambition to fit similar upper-deck weapons to the Tribal class, sloops, and perhaps C-class cruisers. Because the Tribal design was fixed in early 1936, the system would have needed to mature years earlier than it did historically to reshape wartime destroyer armament.
Chapter · 24:16-27:33
The Daring class's 4.5-inch dual-purpose battery
Three twin 4.5-inch mountings gave the Darings a true high-angle dual-purpose battery whose earlier arrival could have reshaped prewar destroyer armament.