Why destroyers cannot win every ranking

Where do Gearing-class ships rank among Second World War destroyers?

There is no single ranking: their value depends on mission and theater, because all practical destroyers are compromises.

A destroyer comparison must begin with its mission: anti-submarine escort, fleet screening, or torpedo attack. Theater also matters, since range, sea conditions, and likely opponents differ across the Pacific, Atlantic, and Mediterranean. A viable destroyer may be a ninety-percent solution for its most likely missions and only seventy percent elsewhere. Optimizing completely for one fight usually makes the ship poor in others, so ranking the Gearing class without a mission conceals the compromises that made it useful.