Tiger traded gun numbers for automation

The ships retained familiar machinery, endurance, and protection while becoming broader and deeper to accommodate new mountings. Their battery shrank to four automatic six-inch and six automatic three-inch guns, trading barrel count for very high training and firing rates. They carried no torpedoes or aircraft before conversion and depended on automation to make the reduced armament convincing. The intended missions included carrier and convoy air defense, trade protection, and a radar-picket contribution while missile cruisers were still being developed. They fit the lineage of the smaller Leander or Arethusa-type cruisers better than that of the most powerful Town-class ships.