The class combined a smoother, more elongated hull with three 21-inch torpedo tubes. Its turret arrangements also expose the value of redundant fire control. Removing independent sighting or firing provisions might simplify a ship, but it could leave a turret unusable if the director, a communications link or another section were disabled. A replacement local-control system would add its own untested complication. Retaining conservative details could therefore preserve fighting capability under damage rather than reflect simple reluctance to innovate.
Notable Point · 19:15-21:48
Hull form, torpedoes and redundant gunnery control
Orion's smoother, elongated hull and its retained torpedo armament sit alongside a wider design question: how much independent capability should a turret retain if central control fails?