The Shakespeare-class figures given here are 40,000 shaft horsepower and 36.5 knots. Designed fuel capacity was 450 tons of oil, while practical loading reached nearly 500 tons. With that greater load, the ships regularly achieved 5,000 nautical miles at 15 knots and sometimes exceeded it. Their continued usefulness supported building another two ships after the First World War.
Notable Point · 1:05:33-1:06:24
Shakespeare-class power and endurance
A larger practical fuel load helped Shakespeare-class leaders achieve greater cruising endurance than their designed oil capacity suggests.