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HMS York entering Havana harbour, January 1938
York-class
General Characteristics
Displacement:	Standard: 8,250 tons (York) / 8,390 tons (Exeter) Full: 10,350 tons (York) / 10,410 tons (Exeter)
Length:	p/p:540 ft (164.6 m) o/a: 575 ft (175.25 m)
Beam:	York: 57 ft (17.58 m) Exeter: 58 ft (17.67 m)
Draught:	17 ft (6.17 m)
Propulsion:	8 Admiralty 3-drum water-tube boilers, Parsons geared steam turbines, 4 shafts, 80,000 shp
Speed:	32¼ kts (30½ kts full load)
Range:	1,900 tons oil fuel, 10,000 nm at 14 kts
Complement:	623 (York) / 630 (Exeter)
Armament:	as designed 6 x BL 8 inch (203 mm) L/50 Mark VIII, twin mounts Mk.II 4 x QF 4 inch (102 mm) L/45 Mk.V, single mounts HA Mk.III 8 x 0.5 inch (12.7 mm) L/50 Mk.III Vickers machine guns, quad mounts Mk.I 2 x triple tubes for 21 inch (533 mm) torpedos
Aircraft:	York: rotating catapult and Fairey Seafox amidships Exeter: 2 fixed catapults and Seafox, later Supermarine Walrus
Armour:	Main belt 3 in 2½-1 in enclosing bulkheads Lower deck 1¼ in over machinery 1½ in over stearing gear Magazine box citadels 4-1 in (Exeter: 5 in max) Transmitting Station 1 in Turrets 1 in face, rear, crown 2½in base 1 in barbette 2 in hoist

The York class was a class of heavy cruiser built for the Royal Navy in the late 1920s under the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922. The class consisted of two ships (HMS York and Exeter), although three more were at one stage planned before the 8-inch cruiser fell out of favour with the Royal Navy.

The Royal Navy had a need for smaller cruisers than the County class, the largest design possible under the Washington limits, in order that more could be built under the strict defence economies of post-war, depression-era Britain. The only way to afford such savings was to reduce either armament, armour or speed. As the latter two options were unnaceptable, the former was chosen, and as a result the Yorks suppressed 'X' turret to ship six 8-inch guns, judged to be the minimum number required to allow fall of shot to be accurately spotted. The economies in size allowed for a 50 feet reduction in length and 9 feet in beam over the Counties, although installed power was unchanged to maintain speed. The Yorks saved 1,750 tons in net weight, but the reductions in cost of £250,000 and manpower of 50 was something of an uneconomical saving.

Protection was much improved, with a 3 inch thick, 8 feet deep main belt and an armoured lower deck joining at its top edge. To shorten the belt length, the amidship magazine found on the Counties was removed (reduced armament required less magazine space anyway). The magazines were proteced by fore and aft "box citadels" extending beyond the belt. As the amdiships magazine had been removed, the secondary 4 inch guns were moved forwards to keep them closer to the supply of charge and shell provided from the forward magazine.

Armament was as per the Counties, excepting the suppression of 'X' turret, and owing to insufficient training space on the narrower beam, only triple torpedo tubes were carried. There was no provision in the original design for the then new QF 2 pdr "multiple pom-pom", leaving an inadequate anti-aircraft armament of only two quadruple 0.5 in Vickers machine guns (fitted eventually in 1935, single 2 pdrs being carried in lieu).

As a result of the magazine changes, and to keep the funnels distant from the bridge, only two funnels were required; the forward boiler room uptakes trunked up into a large fore-funnel. This was raked in York to clear the flue gasses from the bridge, but was straight in Exeter owing to an altered bridge design and more extensive trunking. To maintain homogeneity of appearance, York stepped raked masts and Exeter vertical ones. York had a tall "platform" style bridge as seen in the Counties, which was somewhat distant from 'B' turret. This was because it had been intended to fit a catapult and floatplane to the roof of the turret, which needed clearance distance and required a tall bridge to provide forward view. The roof of the turret, however, was not sufficiently strong to carry this catapult and it was never fitted. Exeter was ordered two years later and the bridge was redesigned in light of this, being lower, further forward and fully enclosed, as later seen in the Leander and Arethusa classes.

York eventually received a rotating catapult amidships behind the funnels, and Exeter had a fixed pair in the same location, firing forwards and angled out from the centreline. A crane for recovery was located to starboard and one aircraft could be carried, initially a Fairey Seafox and later, in Exeter, a Supermarine Walrus.

• British and Empire Warships of the Second World War, H T Lenton, Greenhill Books, ISBN 1-85367-277-7
• Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922-1946, Naval Institute Press, ISBN 0-87021-913-8