The V and W class served a comparable role to the American four-stack destroyers, leaving a large stock of useful ships after World War I. They supplied much of the Royal Navy's destroyer strength through the 1920s and 1930s. Britain began replacing them gradually while retaining the older ships as the bulk of its force. That remaining strength reduced the pressure for a sudden wartime expansion on the scale of the US Fletcher programme. Gradual replacement also suited British shipbuilding capacity, which was already near its limit. American industry had more scope to expand for a mass building programme.
Notable Point · 2:31-3:24
Why Britain could replace its V and W destroyers gradually
A large stock of V and W destroyers allowed Britain to replace ships gradually, matching the limits of its shipbuilding industry.