Built in answer to Japanese cruiser construction, the Town class or Southampton class, as they were once called, is probably the best known of the British cruiser classes to see action during WWII, and one of the class, the Sheffield, is almost certainly the most famous British cruiser of all time. The Towns have often been criticised for being too large for an armament of twelve 6-inch guns, and offering a tempting target in their own right. The criticism has some validity in view of the fact that they were never matched against their designed opponents, and also when one looks at the unqualified success of the Fiji type which gave the same performance on a smaller hull, with less displacement. However, the class acquitted itself with distinction during the war and stood up well to enemy attacks. Some of this resistance can certainly be attributed to pre-war standards of construction, and as active units they generally outlasted the Fiji class during the post¬war period.