Super-Destroyers

Frank Fox told me that he had designed an American-style large destroyer for the WWII period. I have an interest in such a thing, myself. I have thought that a 5.1in gun (13cm) would be the thing to use. The gun is considerably more potent than a 5in/38 or a British 4.7in gun. The 5.1in shell is about the upper limit of what is easily manhandled. The British almost adopted such a gun in the 1930's, and then decided that the shell was too heavy. They stayed with the 4.7in gun until they finally adopted a more modern 4.5in DP gun during WWII. I would want a ship about 2750 tons with 6-5.1in/50 guns, and a torpedo armament of 10-21in TT. We all would wish for a 24in torpedo with capabilities equal to the Long Lance, but no one but the Japanese had done the work required to develop such a weapon. That gave the Japanese destroyers and cruisers a great advantage into 1943, until American night tactics and radar fire control finally gave them an edge.