Four triple launchers and the case for successive torpedo attacks

The Wickes and Clemson classes had little opportunity to demonstrate their full intended destroyer capabilities in wartime. Most arrived after World War I, while age limited their roles by World War II. The favorable assessment here is that four triple torpedo launchers could have made them effective front-line destroyers. Triple mounts were easier to swing than quadruple or quintuple mounts. Launchers on both sides allowed one broadside to be reloaded while the other remained available, so a ship could fire six torpedoes, maneuver, and fire another six. The comparison is with a centerline battery that had fired everything and needed to reload behind smoke. This remains an assessment of tactical potential, rather than a demonstrated combat result.