The Earl of Leitrim proposed that liners carry guns and trained men so the weapons could be mounted in an emergency. His claim that foreign companies already carried such guns becomes an example of sensational and poorly verified military information in nineteenth-century debate. Practical constraints quickly overwhelm the proposal: the hull must carry the weapons, shells, and propellant in peacetime; a suitable crane and yard must be available; neutral ports could not lawfully convert the ship; and the completed liner would remain badly matched against a purpose-built warship. A mobilization scheme has to include the infrastructure and legal conditions needed to execute it.
Notable Point · 2:34:44-2:41:19
Why carrying big guns inside ocean liners was impractical
A parliamentary proposal to carry dismounted guns aboard liners collapses under questions of weight, ammunition, cranes, neutrality, and combat value.