Editing O'Brien-class destroyer (section)

== Background ==
For the 1913 [[fiscal year]],<ref name=Bauer-171 /> the [[General Board of the United States Navy]] determined that six destroyers would be authorized. The design for Destroyers No. 51 through No. 56—what became the ''O'Brien'' class, was to closely follow the design of the {{sclass|Cassin|destroyer|5}} and {{sclass|Aylwin|destroyer|4}}es from fiscal year 1912. The chief of the U.S. Navy's [[Bureau of Ordnance]] (BuOrd) suggested that the new destroyers be equipped with ten [[torpedo tube]]s and urged that the new  {{convert|21|in|mm|0|adj=on}} [[torpedo]] be adopted. The General Board agreed in principle, adopting the 21-inch torpedo tubes, but eliminated BuOrd's proposed centerline torpedo tubes and keeping the number of tubes at eight,<ref name=Friedman-29>Friedman, p. 29.</ref> the same as the ''Cassin'' and ''Aylwin'' classes.<ref name=Bauer-170>Bauer and Roberts, p. 170.</ref> The additional weight of the larger torpedoes, {{convert|5|LT|MT}} of top weight, was offset by reducing the planned two aft-facing guns to a single one.<ref name=Friedman-29 /> This gave the class four {{convert|4|in|mm|0|adj=on}} guns,<ref name=Friedman-29 /> which, again, matched the [[artillery battery|battery]] of the ''Cassin'' and ''Aylwin'' classes.<ref name=Bauer-170 /> The design for the ''O'Brien'' class was approved on 20 August 1912, and authorized by [[Congress (United States)|Congress]] on 4 March 1913.<ref name=Friedman-29 />