Vickers Design 1242 for Australia

What was Vickers export Design 1242 for Australia?

It was an approximately 8,300-ton, 32-knot cruiser with six 8-inch guns - a cut-price County-class concept for Australian service.

Vickers Design 1242 was a 1926 export proposal for Australia, described as a cheaper approximation of a County-class cruiser. Its armament comprised six 8-inch/50 guns, four 4-inch/45 guns, and quadruple torpedo tubes. Three funnels served machinery rated at more than 80,000 shaft horsepower, with a proposed speed of 32 knots. Standard displacement was about 8,300 tons. The comparison shows how a smaller navy could seek much of a treaty cruiser's capability in a less expensive design.