Building only York and Exeter made the Type B programme especially hard to justify. A pair of repeat Counties could have avoided much of the cost of a new design, while the smaller cruisers still demanded their own studies and development work. The result is described as design by committee: pieces came off a sound concept until the ship was compromised without delivering proportionate economy. The Admiralty had examined more efficient arrangements, including the Nelson-style all-forward battery, but rejected them because they did not look sufficiently like conventional cruisers.
Notable Point · 20:08-21:23
Why two Type B cruisers could not justify a new design
With only two Type B cruisers planned, fresh design studies and committee-driven compromises eroded savings that repeating the County class could have preserved.