A British choice of 15-inch guns could support a public claim of restraint while other navies adopted 16-inch weapons. In this proposed diplomatic argument, Britain would claim that experience of war had shown it did not need the larger calibre. The technical qualification is that the 15-inch/50 firing a Greenboy shell was expected to remain highly competitive in penetration. The nominal difference in calibre could therefore carry more diplomatic weight than the expected difference in fighting performance.
Notable Point · 1:07:55-1:08:54
Presenting 15-inch guns as naval restraint
Britain could present its smaller nominal calibre as restraint while retaining a weapon expected to compete with 16-inch guns.