A detailed comment traces an Orion-class disagreement between the Director of Naval Construction's staff and the Naval Staff. Constructors reportedly considered the existing beam too narrow for adequate torpedo protection and wanted at least three additional feet. The Naval Staff sought a low metacentric height for a stable gun platform and a fine length-to-beam ratio. Restricting beam also avoided adding hull length or substantially increasing machinery power merely to preserve the required speed. Underwater protection, stability, propulsion, and gunnery requirements were already pulling the design in different directions before triple turrets entered the calculation.
Notable Point · 46:52-47:52
Orion's beam, stability, and torpedo protection dispute
The Orion-class design debate set underwater protection against the Naval Staff's preference for low metacentric height, fine hull proportions, and limited machinery growth.