The Colorado class placed eight 16-inch guns on the American standard-type battleship line. The United States had discussed the calibre well before construction and had already advanced through 14-inch Tennessee-class ships. That pressure sat beside Britain's Queen Elizabeth programme and the later Agincourt proposal, so British heavy-gun decisions cannot be understood only through the Anglo-German contest. American orders in batches of four mattered, although Britain still possessed much greater shipbuilding infrastructure before the 1920s. The arms race also involved calibre, production runs, and anticipated future fleets.
Chapter · 1:42:37-1:45:48
American 16-inch guns widened the dreadnought competition
The Colorado programme embodied a long American move toward 16-inch guns and forced British planners to think beyond the weapons needed against Germany alone.