Four small funnels gave American four-stackers a readily recognizable silhouette. Two larger funnels would have been more efficient, but they would have lost some of that distinctiveness. The later two-funnel Farraguts look more generic in this visual comparison, resembling contemporary Royal Navy, Italian, and French destroyers. The preference for four-stackers rests partly on being able to recognize their national identity from their shape.
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Four funnels gave American destroyers a recognizable silhouette
The four-stacker's distinctive appearance is compared with the more generic two-funnel Farraguts, despite the greater efficiency of two larger funnels.