Gridley traded Pacific range for speed and torpedo power

The Gridley class used high-pressure Bethlehem boilers derived from a heavily modified Yarrow pattern. Boiler pressure rose to about 565 psi, and the ships could reach roughly 38.5 knots on trials. Four 5-inch/38 guns and sixteen torpedo tubes made a class of four ships exceptionally heavily armed for its size. Older single-reduction turbines and the absence of a cruising turbine limited cruising efficiency, with range about 5,520 nautical miles at 12 knots. That endurance was workable in the Atlantic but restrictive for a Pacific screen that had to travel thousands of miles and then manoeuvre at high speed. Limited weight and deck space also made anti-aircraft upgrades difficult. The four ships survived World War II after operating with USS Enterprise around the Pearl Harbor attack and screening USS Saratoga during the New Georgia landings. As Fletcher-class destroyers became available, the Gridleys increasingly moved to Atlantic or escort work where their shorter range was less restrictive.