The Valasca class was the largest class of destroyer (24 members) so far built by the Amazon Navy. They were built to replace all of the World War One vintage destroyers. Some of those destroyers were saved by the Japanese abrogation of Treatys, as escorts. The Valasca and Otrera class destroyers were the screening units for the main Fleet. They had been built as fleet destroyers with a heavy AA battery. Air defence was becoming a recognised need for all ships. These were big ships for only a 6x4" main armament, they certainly required the two banks of 21" torpedoes to be able to handle ships bigger than them. The extra size was put to good use in extending the range of the ships.
Refits kept the ships up to date with the speed of changing technology in current warfare. The advent of all sorts of electronic aids during the late 1930's kept new aerials, scanners and radar being added to the ships. What was new six months ago was now obsolete and another new system would be fitted. This was one of the major differences in a lot of the electronic units produced by the Allies in comparison to those produced by the Axis. The early British/Allied units were upgradeable - much like the plug 'n' play units of today. Whereas the early German electronics required a completely new built unit to replace the old one. A big win in time and space for the Allies. When the British thought that Britain might be lost to Germany in 1940, all of the current and future development projects were put aboard ships and sent to America. This gave the American development programs a huge jump start that kept them ahead of the R&D curve. Massive amounts of new electronic systems, all of the British Atomic secrets, the 40mm Bofors, all were sent to the US, absolutely free, no strings attached.
I have recounted the Norwegian affair where the Otrera and four Valasca class destroyers caught the German Kristiandsand invasion force and sank them. The classes one major surface action. Tied to the Fleet, their major shooting was at enemy aircraft. The odd submarine would be detected near the fleet and one of the Squadrons (Leader + 4 DD's) would be sent to hunt and kill the submarine. Mainly they just cruised around the Fleet in their allotted positions getting bored out of their skulls. These women had been born and bred to fight for thousands of years. They wanted to be where the action was.
