The Londons retained the broad County formula but cut roughly 550 tons at standard displacement and more than 800 tons at full load. Their hulls were longer, slightly narrower, and somewhat deeper in draught while using the same power. Those changes bought about three-quarters of a knot, lifting speed to roughly 32.25 knots. Armament remained the same and protection was broadly similar, with some local reductions. Treaty-era designers had little weight to spare, even for a gain of only three-quarters of a knot.
Chapter · 15:02-16:55
The London class trades weight for speed
The London-class Counties were lengthened and made slimmer to gain speed, showing how a small displacement saving could shape a cruiser variant.