The archival legend of particulars in Admiralty file ADM 1/9390 compares the approved design with successive Southampton-class programs. It records growth from roughly 9,060 to 9,400 standard tons, 75,000 to 82,500 shaft horsepower, speed near 32 knots, and endurance of about 8,900 nautical miles at 16 knots. A flagship complement of about 790, 200 rounds per six-inch gun, six torpedoes, aircraft provision, armour, and detailed weight entries expose the stores and allocations behind the headline dimensions. The document shows how published specification tables are reconstructed from primary records and how apparently simple class statistics conceal program-by-program change.
Chapter · 25:41-32:20
Reading a Southampton-class legend of particulars
An Admiralty record exposes how displacement, machinery, endurance, ammunition, aircraft, armor, and weight were allocated across the design.