Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Q&A · 1:46:42-1:47:05

Why U.S. and Japanese 18-inch gun tests led to different answers

American tests judged the 18-inch gun against battle-fleet needs, while Japan valued it as a deterrent weapon, so the same technology served different strategic standards.

DeterrenceImperial Japanese NavyNaval GunneryUS Navy
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Question

Was the U.S. Navy right to turn away from 18-inch guns after testing them?

Short answer

Yes for an American battle fleet, while Japan could reach a different answer because it wanted deterrent value from exceptional guns.

Notes

American conclusions from 18-inch gun trials were sound for the problem the United States was trying to solve. The U.S. Navy wanted an efficient weapon for a balanced battle fleet. Japan increasingly considered very large guns as a way to create a deterrent fleet that could offset numerical inferiority. Different strategic purposes therefore produced different judgments without either test programme necessarily being technically mistaken.