Armour and torpedoes for fighting surface raiders

The E class's armour scheme followed its intended combat role rather than a simple measure of thickness. Some protected areas compared favourably with the Hawkins class, although the ships remained large light cruisers. Their likely opponents included sizeable enemy cruisers operating as surface raiders. The armour was meant to help an E-class cruiser survive while closing the range, where twelve 21-inch torpedoes could threaten a more heavily armed opponent. Those torpedoes sat in four triple mountings, a heavy battery for a light cruiser. The design also carried three rapid-firing 4-inch guns with anti-aircraft capability and an initial pair of two-pounders. Both the early figures and the later recap give twelve torpedoes in four triple mountings, in conflict with the separate 1939 armament list. Selective protection and heavy torpedo armament fit a large light cruiser intended to fight surface raiders.