How destroyer leaders could release cruisers for global duties

Fisher saw a fast large destroyer as another way to strain Germany's naval budget through qualitative competition as well as numbers. Swift also offered a way to redistribute duties across the fleet. As battlecruisers emerged and older armoured cruisers became less suitable for global presence work, Town-class and other light cruisers had to take on more cruising duties. Large destroyer leaders could assume their flotilla work while providing the fighting power needed to support a destroyer force. Swift's unreliability limited this early design, but the case for further development rested on the wider allocation of ships and responsibilities.