The Gleaves class continued the American practice of alternating boiler rooms and engine rooms. Other navies still grouped all boilers together and all turbines together as World War II approached. A hit to one concentrated machinery group could remove every boiler or turbine at once. The older arrangement persisted partly because designers and yards repeated the layout they already knew. Construction habits could preserve this vulnerability even after a better arrangement was available.
Notable Point · 2:21:56-2:22:52
Design inertia kept vulnerable machinery layouts in use
The American echelon arrangement alternated boiler and turbine spaces, while some navies entered World War II with older layouts reinforced by familiar design and construction practice.