A map of British territories illustrates why the Royal Navy wanted more capable cruisers distributed across multiple stations. Smaller C-, D-, E-, and Hawkins-class cruisers could perform much of the routine work, but stations also needed a more powerful flagship. The long design gap came from trying to squeeze armoured-cruiser presence into a large-light-cruiser budget, which forced many design permutations. Across the County programme, seven of ten projected Kents, four Londons, two of five Norfolks, and two of five Yorks were completed. The eventual programme changed repeatedly, so the larger cumulative figure of 24 reflects evolving plans rather than a single commitment.
Notable Point · 29:20-35:57
Imperial stations and the County programme
The apparent demand for many County-class ships came from the need to cover a worldwide network of stations with credible flagships.