The Paulding class used Parsons direct-drive steam turbines and could make roughly 29.5 knots or travel 3,000 nautical miles at 16 knots. Five 3-inch guns and three twin 18-inch torpedo launchers supplied its armament, and the twin launchers weighed less than the Smith class's single-launcher design. Funnel arrangements varied, including ships with conjoined funnels. Most had three shafts, while some had two. These were good, useful destroyers, but continued battleship construction made them scarce. The cheaper ships had become the more precious operational resource because the battle line depended on them.
Chapter · 29:58-33:38
Paulding design strengths cannot overcome escort scarcity
Speed, range, lighter twin torpedo launchers, and varied machinery made the Pauldings useful ships, but scarcity made them more precious than the battleships they enabled.