What the Daring-class AC and DC trials achieved

Did the Daring-class boiler and AC/DC experiment influence later ships?

Yes. The results fed into the choice of AC systems and boiler arrangements for the next generation before gas power became widespread.

The Daring-class variations were operational experiments. Four ships had DC electrical systems and four had AC, divided again between two boiler arrangements. Those choices created four two-ship combinations that could be compared in service. The results informed the AC electrical and boiler arrangements adopted in the next generation before gas-turbine propulsion became dominant. Building the subgroups allowed the Navy to test complete engineering systems under operational conditions instead of relying only on tanks and simulations.