WesWorld

Some time ago we argued about torpedo mounts and if we use quad mounts on destroyers and cruisers too early in WesWorld. Inspired by this discussion I browsed some of my sources (some books are still packed away and currently not available) and here´s what I found out.

Except for the Americans building douzands of four stackers there was little activity regarding destroyers or cruisers up until ~1924. Up to this year all units got what was already available by the end of WW1 – twin and triple mounts. Things changed when the British began to build new destroyers in 1924 and laid down the first series of County-class heavy cruisers. The KENTs (first unit laid down on 15.09.24 was BERWICK) got two quad mounts on their weatherdeck

Meanwhile new construction of destroyers lead to two prototypes known as AMBUSCE (laid down 08.12.24) and AMAZON (29.01.25). Of these two units AMBUSCE turned out to be a successful design (dispite being smaller) and thus served as the prototype for more than 70 destroyers laid down during following years. However, her armament was still based on what the British used for their last V&W types: 4x 12cm guns and 6x 21” TTs in two triple mounts. Only for the next unit, HMS CORRINGTON (20.06.2 which was build as leader for the soon to be laid down A-class destroyers, the designers responsible chosed to have her receive two quad mounts. Shortly thereafter the A-class fleet destroyers were laid down (starting on the 13th of August 28 with ACASTA) which got eight torpedo tubes each, also installed in quad mounts.

At this point it is interesting to note that the As originally should have received quintuble mounts as a new doctrine specified the torpedo attack as the primary role for all new destroyers laid down for the Royal Navy. So the destroyer which was originally build as torpedo boat destroyer to protect the fleet from torpedo boat attacks, mainly by the use of guns, would have taken over the role of the ships it originally was designed to counter: the torpedo boat with its main role to launch torpedo attacks. However, weight and cost restrictions forced the British to use quad mounts on the As and all classes thereafter until HMS INGLEFIELD was laid down in 1936. She was the first DD to receive 2x 5 TTs.

Other navies also introduced mounts with more than three tubes. The Germans did so with their first destroyers (Typ 34 and 34A) in 1934, the Japanese with the SHIRATSUYUs in 1933, the Dutch with the TJERK HIDDES-class of 1938, the Russians with the LENINGRADs in 1932 and the US-Americans with the FARRAGUTs during the same year. With the BENSONs the latter finally also went for quintubles in 1938. Several japanese cruisers also received mounts with more than three tubes during their rebuilds in the 1930s.

In WesWorld we seem to have quadtruble mounts around at least since 1921 (RSAN Hound-class torpedo boats). So compared to the real world we´re ahead of time by about three years or four which I think is not critical as the technology necessary for mounts with more than three tubes is not very difficult to gain and was already there but not used for various reasons.

Regards,

HoOmAn

Good discussion.

I've been using quad mounts for some time, and thought it reasonable - so far as I know, there was no real technical reason not to, more a way of thinking.

The British destroyer evolution makes sense to a point - but did any country not do the same thing? Off the top of my head, I can't think of any destroyers of the time period - biggies like the Tribals excluded - that didn't carry more torpedoes than main guns. Perhaps there was more faith in the battleline's ability to defend itself against torpedo attack? Or perhaps the treaty-limited battlelines were thought to need the extra muscle provided by torpedo-heavy destroyers?

J

Interesting data, Hooman.
Having read that, I decided to look at the multi-tube torpedo mounts on all my Japanese warships and noticed that I I do not use any quad mounts yet. Some of them use triples, others use twins. It might have something to do with the fact that I am looking a bit at Jane's Fighting Ships of World War I and at the historical Japanese designs of the 20s when I sim the cruisers and destroyers. Since you mentioned that the first Japanese ship to use mounts with more than three tubes was in 1933, I guess it's no surprise that I do not have them yet.