Editing County-class cruiser (section)

==Differences and modifications==

===''Kent'' class===
Originally planned as a programme of 17 Royal Navy vessels, the numbers were cut back significantly following the formation of the [[first Labour Government]] after the [[1923 United Kingdom general election|election of December 1923]]. Of the eight ships planned to begin construction in 1924, only five were approved, with a further two ordered later by the Royal Australian Navy.<ref>Marriot (2005) c.3, para. 6</ref>

These initial seven ships – {{HMS|Berwick|65|2}}, {{HMS|Cornwall|56|2}}, {{HMS|Cumberland|C57|2}}, {{HMS|Kent|68|2}}, and {{HMS|Suffolk|55|2}}, built for the Royal Navy, and {{HMAS|Australia|1927|2}} and {{HMAS|Canberra|1927|2}} for the Royal Australian Navy – formed the '''''Kent'' class'''. All were ordered in 1924 and commissioned in 1928. It was quickly found necessary to heighten the funnels by some {{convert|15|ft|m}} to clear the [[flue]] gasses from the aft superstructure. The Australian ships, ''Australia'' and ''Canberra'' had them raised a further {{convert|3|ft|m}}. Between 1930 and 1933 the aircraft and catapult were added, as was a high-angle [[HACS]] director for the 4-inch guns. ''Kent'' received an additional pair of 4-inch guns in 1934, and she, ''Berwick'' and ''Cornwall'' each received a pair of [[Vickers machine gun|QF 0.5-inch Vickers]] machine guns added abreast the fore funnel.

By the mid-1930s, the British ''Kent''s were due for modernisation. However, there was little surplus weight for the designers to work with while remaining within the Treaty requirements; they were between 150 and 250 tons under the treaty limits and it was estimated that a further 200-odd tons could be gained through various savings.<ref name="lenton"/>{{Page needed|date=January 2020}} A {{convert|6|ft|m|adj=mid|-deep}} armoured belt, {{convert|4.5|in|mm|adj=on}} thick, was added amidships, extending down from the armoured deck to 1 foot below the waterline. ''Cumberland'' and ''Suffolk'' had the aft superstructure razed and replaced by a large hangar for two aircraft and a fixed athwartships catapult. A crane was fitted on either side of the after funnel, and the rear gunnery, navigation and control positions were relocated to the hangar roof. The single 2-pounder guns were removed, and quadruple mountings, Mark VII, were added on either side of the bridge. The 4-inch guns were relocated, and the rearmost pair were replaced by twin mountings Mark XIX for the QF 4-inch Mark XVI. To keep weight within acceptable margins, the hull was cut down by one deck aft of "Y" turret. ''Berwick'' and ''Cornwall'' were similarly converted, but with more weight in hand the hull was not cut down; all four 4-inch mounts were twins and the 2-pounder guns were octuple mounts. By 1939, the torpedo tubes had been removed in all four ships.

''Kent'' had less weight available for improvements and therefore was not given such an extensive modernisation. While she received the 4-inch armour belt and the double 4-inch gun mounts like her sisters, she retained the rotating catapult and after superstructure, with an additional fire-control position mounted on a distinctive lattice structure aft. Her anti-aircraft armaments were improved as for her sisters, but the multiple 2-pounders and their directors were carried aft, by the lattice structure. The naval historian H. Trevor Lenton estimates that despite the best attempts, none of these ships stayed within the treaty limits; ''Kent''{{'}}s full load displacement was 14,197 tons, indicating a standard displacement of around 10,600 tons. Lenton expresses doubts whether the Admiralty ever informed the Government of these excesses, as with war imminent, "there were more pressing demands on their time".<ref name="lenton"/>{{Page needed|date=January 2020}} Another historian, Leo Marriott, gives an alternative displacement of 10,300 tons and notes that it was "unofficially accepted" by the UK, USA, Italy, France and Japan that refits could allow ships to exceed the London treaty limits by up to 300 tons.<ref>Marriot (2005) c.3, para. 9</ref>

===''London'' class===
The second group, the four ships of the ''London'' class ({{HMS|Devonshire|39|2}}, {{HMS|London|69|2}}, {{HMS|Shropshire|73|2}} and {{HMS|Sussex|96|2}}), closely followed the design of the ''Kent''s. The external bulges were not present, reducing the beam by {{convert|2|ft|m}}, and the hull was lengthened by {{convert|2|ft|9|in|m}}; these changes translated into a {{Fraction||3|4}}-knot increase in speed. To remedy the loss of the bulge protection, there was a second skin of inner plating to provide the same effect. The bridge was moved aft to lessen the effects of muzzle blast from B turret when the guns were trained [[Glossary of nautical terms (A-L)#abaft the beam|abaft the beam]]. They had heightened funnels as built. The aircraft and catapult had been fitted by 1932.

In all ships but ''Sussex'', four 4-inch guns were added in single mountings abreast the funnels. The single 2-pounder guns were removed, and two quadruple mounts for 0.5-inch Vickers machine guns were added. ''Shropshire'' acquired an additional anti-aircraft fire control director. Early in the war, the additional 4-inch guns were removed, and the original 4-inch guns altered to the Mark XVI twin mounts. The octuple 2-pounder guns that had originally been designed in were also finally added.

From 1938 to 1941, ''London'' received an altogether more comprehensive modernisation. Her upperworks were removed and replaced by new fore and aft superstructures and two upright funnels modelled on the contemporary {{sclass2|Crown Colony|cruiser|0}} cruisers. The forward superstructure block incorporated a large hangar opening onto an athwartships catapult between the superstructure blocks. There was a catapult on either side of the after funnel. The 4-inch anti-aircraft guns were replaced by twin mountings and relocated to the after superstructure, with the torpedoes a deck below. The 2-pounder guns were carried on the hangar roof and the multiple Vickers guns mounted, one each, on the roofs of "B" and "X" turrets. A {{convert|3.5|in|mm|adj=on}} belt, {{convert|8|ft|m}} deep, was added abreast the machinery spaces, extending up to the armoured deck. However, the hull had originally been carefully designed to reduce weight based on the initial arrangements. The modifications to ''London'' added heavy weights fore and aft and severely overstressed the hull. As a result cracks and loose rivets began to appear on the upper deck. The upper deck was reinforced, which caused the stress to be transmitted through the lower hull instead and cracks began to appear under the waterline. It took underwater reinforcements and refits extending into 1943 to remedy the situation.<ref name="lenton"/><ref name="Marriot 2005"/>{{Pages needed|date=January 2020}}

The outbreak of war prevented what had ended up being a rather fruitless cosmetic rebuild being extended to the rest of her sisters, as had originally been intended. The remaining ''London''s thus never received side armouring or the improved aircraft complement.

During wartime refits, the last three ''London''s underwent similar alterations as the ''Kent''s did, having their eight {{convert|21|in|mm|adj=on|sigfig=3}} torpedo tubes removed, and "X" {{convert|8|in|mm|adj=on|sigfig=3}} turret removed, although both ''London'' and ''Shropshire'' retained it. ''Shropshire'', unlike her two un-converted sisters retained her torpedo armament, and was transferred to the Royal Australian Navy in early 1943 to replace ''Canberra''.

===''Norfolk'' class===
The final pair of Counties – {{HMS|Norfolk|78|2}} and {{HMS|Dorsetshire|40|2}} – formed the ''Norfolk'' class. Another two ships that had been deferred from the 1927–1928 and 1928–1929 programmes – to have been named ''Northumberland'' and ''Surrey'' – were ordered on 15 May 1929, but suspended on 23 August and finally cancelled on 14 January 1930. A proposed fifth vessel of the sub-class was also cancelled.<ref>Marriot (2005) c. 2, para. 14</ref> This was due to the [[1929 United Kingdom general election|change in administration in 1929]] that ushered in a minority [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]] government under [[Ramsay MacDonald]]. The new government cancelled the ships as an economy measure and as a gesture to the forthcoming [[London Naval Conference 1930]].<ref name="Marriot 2005"/>{{Page needed|date=January 2020}}

The ''Norfolk''s were repeats of the ''London''s with minor alterations. The bridge and after superstructure were lowered. The 8-inch gun mountings were Mark II variants that simplified loading but ended up being heavier than the Mark I variant.<ref>Marriot (2005) Appendix 3, para. 4</ref> The 4-inch guns were relocated forwards in order that they did not obstruct the catapult and aircraft which had been mounted lower down than in their predecessors. During 1937, the 4-inch guns were replaced by twins, octuple 2-pounders were added around the after superstructure and the single guns forward were removed. These improvements pushed the standard displacement over 10,400 tons.<ref name="lenton"/>{{Page needed|date=January 2020}}

During the war, [[Unrotated Projectile|UP rocket]] launchers were initially added, but they were later removed along with the Vickers guns. These were replaced by the altogether more useful 20&nbsp;mm Oerlikon gun. An additional director for the 4-inch guns was added, and the pole masts were replaced by tripods to support the additional weight of masthead electronics. ''Dorsetshire'' was sunk in 1942, and so it was only ''Norfolk'' that underwent a refit in 1944, during which her aircraft, catapult and X turret were removed. This allowed four quadruple 2-pounder mounts and their directors and four single 40&nbsp;mm Bofors guns to be added. An extra superstructure was added aft to carry barrage directors, fitted with [[List of World War II British naval radar#Type 283|radar Type 283]], which finally allowed the main armament to serve in its intended anti-aircraft role.

It was intended for ''Surrey'' and ''Northumberland'' to have a modified design, more heavily armoured but {{convert|2|kn}} slower.<ref>[ADM 1/9301 10,000ton Cruiser: legend and design. 1929 and ADM 1/9306 "Y" design Cruiser: report and details. 1929]</ref>{{Primary source inline|date=January 2020}}

===Comparison of classes===
{|class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
|+ Class comparison{{Citation needed|date=February 2010}}
|-
! scope="col" | Class
! scope="col" | Number built<br /> & planned
! scope="col" | Ordered
! scope="col" | Length
! scope="col" | Beam
! scope="col" | Speed<br />(full load)
! scope="col" | Displacement<br /> (standard, long tons)
! scope="col" | Main<br />armament
! scope="col" | Belt armour<br />
! scope="col" | Torpedo<br>tubes
! scope="col" | Complement
|-
! scope="row" | ''Kent''
|7 of 10
|1924
|{{convert|630|ft|m|abbr=on|disp=br()}}
|{{convert|68|ft|m|abbr=on|disp=br()}}
|{{frac|31|1|2}}&nbsp;kn
|10,570
|8 × 8-inch
|{{convert|4.5|in|mm|abbr=on|disp=br()|0}}{{efn-ua|Post 1935 refit, not in ''Canberra''}}
|8
|685
|-
! scope="row" | ''London''
|4 of 4
|1925–1926
|{{convert|632+3/4|ft|m|abbr=on|disp=br()}}
|{{convert|66|ft|m|abbr=on|disp=br()}}
|{{frac|32|1|4}}&nbsp;kn
|9,830
|8 × 8-inch
|{{convert|3.5|in|mm|abbr=on|disp=br()}}{{efn-ua|Post 1938 rebuild, ''London'' only}}
|8
|700
|-
! scope="row" | ''Norfolk''
|2 of 5
|1926–1927
|{{convert|632+3/4|ft|m|abbr=on|disp=br()}}
|{{convert|66|ft|m|abbr=on|disp=br()}}
|{{frac|32|1|4}}&nbsp;kn
|10,300
|8 × 8-inch
| {{convert|3.5|in|mm|abbr=on|disp=br()}}
|8
|725
|-
! scope="row" | ''York''
|2 of 5
|1926–1928
|{{convert|575|ft|m|abbr=on|disp=br()}}
|{{convert|58|ft|m|abbr=on|disp=br()}}
|{{frac|31|1|2}}&nbsp;kn
|8,250
|6 × 8-inch
|{{convert|3|in|mm|abbr=on|disp=br()}}
|6
|623
|}
{{notelist-ua}}