Like the "Porter"s, they were originally built with eight /38 caliber guns in four single purpose (surface action only) twin mounts. Anti-aircraft (AA) protection was initially provided by two quadruple machine cannon mounts and two .50-caliber machine guns. The 1.1-inch mounts were intended to compensate for the 5-inch guns' lack of AA capability; in the 1930s this was thought to be sufficient. As with the "Porter"s, the "Somers"' main armament was reduced to six guns (and replaced with dual-purpose mounts totaling five guns in "Davis" and "Jouett") during World War II, with the anti-aircraft armament replaced by 40 mm Bofors and 20 mm Oerlikon guns and the torpedo armament reduced to eight tubes. In two ships ("Davis" and "Jouett") the torpedo armament was eliminated to maximize the number of 40 mm guns.