They were essentially a reduced version of the preceding County class, scaled down to enable more cruisers to be built from the limited defence budgets of the late 1920s.

Exeter took part in the Battle of the River Plate against the German raider Admiral Graf Spee, and was badly damaged, though later she was repaired and modernized.

She escorted a convoy to the Pacific in late 1941, and was again heavily damaged in the Battle of the Java Sea, then caught and overwhelmed a few days later by four Japanese heavy cruisers.

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 1920s Britain.

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.

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.

[5] Although York did not directly participate in the Battle of Cape Passero, she partook in the aftermath of the engagement where she sank the disabled and abandoned Italian destroyer Artigliere.

Exeter partook in a flanking maneuver to distract Graf Spee so that Ajax and Achilles could sneak attack the German cruiser, and she paid the price for this.

[8] Two days later, the crippled Exeter alongside the destroyers USS Pope and HMS Encounter ran into Haguro again, supported by her three sisterships, Nachi, Myōkō, and Ashigara.

Exeter was hit by numerous 8-inch (203 mm) shells, the first of which blew up the rest of her engines and left her dead in the water, which resulted in her scuttling.