Successful Town-class conversions could encourage the Royal Navy to order purpose-built cruiser-destroyers. In the game design exercise, the initial ambition is a ship below 6,000 tons that can be built quickly and keep up with destroyers at 36-37 knots. Range, machinery, protection, and armament push the design toward 8,000 tons, while weight limits bring the chosen speed down to 33 knots. The resulting model has roughly 84,000 shaft horsepower and a displayed range of about 12,000 kilometres. Its armament combines 4.5-inch guns with sixteen 21-inch torpedoes. These figures describe the evolving game model, whose weight limits force repeated choices between the desired capabilities.
Chapter · 1:57:30-2:10:55
Designing a purpose-built cruiser-destroyer successor
A game design exercise explores how range, protection, and destroyer-level speed push a proposed small flotilla cruiser beyond its initial displacement target.