A common design allowed ships to remain recognisable sisters while their builders refined particular details. Thornycroft hulls could be faster and more fuel-efficient than ships using similar engines. Differences of two or three degrees in the curvature and shaping of the bow illustrate how small changes affected resistance. Achieving those shapes required carefully made jigs for the steelwork, increasing construction cost. The comparison gave the Navy evidence about the performance gained from paying for more exact hull construction.
Notable Point · 1:04:03-1:05:24
Thornycroft hull shaping saved fuel but cost more to build
Small changes in the shape of steel hull plates could improve speed and fuel use, at the cost of more specialised construction work.