Effective gun ranges for cruisers and destroyers

What were effective firing ranges for cruiser and destroyer guns?

Roughly 18,000 yards for cruiser weapons and about 14,000 yards for 4.7-inch destroyer guns, with destroyers preferring closer action near 10,000 yards.

A gun's practical fighting range could be much shorter than its maximum ballistic reach. For cruiser weapons, the commonly considered effective range was around 18,000 yards. A 4.7-inch destroyer gun might be discussed at about 14,000 yards, but destroyer crews preferred to close further, often toward 10,000 yards. A quoted range figure therefore did not necessarily describe the distance at which a ship expected to fight most effectively.