The 1957 Defence White Paper under Duncan Sandys on the future of the British armed forces proposed to reduce the active cruiser fleet the "Tiger"s and "Swiftsure" and "Superb" would enter service as interim anti-aircraft ships, until the County-class destroyers were commissioned. The older s and were larger and more effective than other WWII legacy cruiser and in the early 1950s, stillborn designs fitting them with three of the new Mk 26 turrets were prepared. But by 1953 – 15 years after commissioning – they were too old for real modernisation. By 1954, time meant that only the "Tiger"s' and "Swiftsure"s rebuild could be contemplated. With missiles and consumer demand, replacing guns and refitted gun cruisers were mothballed, and by 1960 consideration was being given to fitting HMS "Blake" and its half-sister "Swiftsure" with Sea Slug missiles.