Destroyers: rapid fire, screening, and torpedoes

Destroyer gunnery followed the ship's screening role rather than a pursuit of maximum gun size. A small, fast, moving hull was poorly suited to slow long-range precision gunnery, so rate of fire and quick changes of aim mattered more. Locally controlled mounts, including hand-trained single guns, could still put shells on target quickly. At a 5 percent hit rate, 20 shells in two minutes might produce one hit while a battleship fired only four salvos. Destroyers used that gunfire to disrupt opposing destroyers and keep them from reaching capital ships with torpedoes. Their own torpedoes remained the decisive threat against larger vessels, making an over-gunned 'small cruiser' a poor substitute for a true destroyer.