Lance and Lively carried quick-firing 4-inch guns that could respond to high- and low-angle air attack in the Mediterranean. Their lighter shells also allowed heavy suppressive fire against surface targets, helping protect the cruisers while they engaged with 6-inch guns. Four-inch fire was adequate against merchant ships at the short ranges envisaged. The formation carried 28 torpedo tubes in total, with a corrected broadside count of 22 because the destroyers' centreline mounts could train to either side. Radar and improved cruiser searchlights supported a night doctrine based on closing before opening fire.
Notable Point · 5:07:35-5:10:59
Why Lance and Lively's 4-inch guns suited Force K
The destroyers combined rapid gunfire, air defence, and torpedoes with the cruisers' heavier batteries.