Retrofitted radar versus radar-designed warships

Were ships built with radar significantly better integrated than older ships receiving radar refits?

Yes. New construction could integrate sensors and control systems from the outset, while older ships accumulated compromises through staged refits.

Older ships needed staged retrofits, and each new radar fit raised questions about whether existing equipment could still work with it. Keeping some older equipment could complicate the installation of a newer system. New construction could select the radar and compatible equipment together. Integration therefore depended on how the ship had been designed and how its successive alterations fitted together.