A destroyer could be built and commissioned in roughly eighteen months, while a cruiser needed about two to two and a half years and larger ships demanded still more resources. More yards could construct destroyers, so wartime mobilization naturally increased their numbers fastest. Their low profiles, high speed, and movement in rough water also shortened visual engagement ranges. Those conditions favored rapid, flexible gun systems for close fights rather than oversized weapons optimized for long-range duels.
Notable Point · 1:44:21-1:46:16
Why wartime shipbuilding made destroyers the mass threat
Destroyers could be built faster and in more yards than cruisers or capital ships, making them the surface opponent wartime fleets were most likely to meet in growing numbers.