Spacing between destroyers had to balance mutual defensive fire, each ship's own firing arcs, and freedom to manoeuvre. The example supposes American ships operating about 1,800 to 2,400 yards apart, while British equipment could favour another distance. Those figures are illustrative rather than a universal formation order. The specific comparison is that British 4.7- and 4.5-inch guns could favour closer spacing under air attack because of how the weapons could be trained and operated. That closer arrangement produced denser defensive fire for those ships. Borrowing useful doctrinal ideas still required adjustments for a navy's weapons and training, since copying an unsuitable spacing could leave gaps.
Notable Point · 24:31-26:08
Why Allied anti-aircraft formations needed different spacing
A hypothetical spacing comparison explains why British guns could favour closer anti-aircraft formations and why American doctrine needed adaptation to different equipment.