"Kent" was long overall and between perpendiculars, with a beam of and a draught of . Displacement was normal and deep load. The ship was propelled by a combination of steam turbines and gas turbines in a Combined steam and gas (COSAG) arrangement, driving two propeller shafts. Each shaft could by driven by a single steam turbine (fed with steam at and ) from Babcock & Wilcox boilers) and two Metrovick G6 gas turbines (each rated at ), with the gas turbines being used for high speeds and to allow a quick departure from ports without waiting for steam to be raised. Maximum speed was and the ship had a range of at .