Q&A · 21:41-23:19

Building the worst destroyer of 1939

A deliberately bad destroyer combines national design weaknesses, with a dispute over whether obsolete Japanese stability calculations qualify.

Question

Which navies' weakest features could be combined into the worst destroyer in service in 1939?

Short answer

An Italian hull, German machinery, French heavy guns, American torpedoes, British high-angle fire control, and Japanese or German light anti-aircraft weapons.

Notes

The deliberately bad design combines an Italian hull, German machinery, French heavy guns, American torpedoes, and British high-angle fire control. Japanese 25 mm weapons or German 37 mm semi-automatic guns complete the proposed anti-aircraft fit. A participant suggests Japanese stability calculations, prompting an objection that the question specifies ships in service in 1939, after the earlier stability problems had been addressed. The rejoinder assumes the designer obtained obsolete original plans through espionage. The choices are a joking composite of perceived weaknesses, with no detailed engineering design worked out.