Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Q&A · 1:27:22-1:28:01

Why battleship calibres clustered around 13.5 and 14 inches

Closely spaced heavy-gun calibres often reflected what national foundries could manufacture and round metric specifications rather than decisive ballistic differences.

BattleshipsFoundriesGun CalibresIndustrial CapacityNaval Gunnery
Watch at this timeFull video guide
Question

What were the merits of 13.4-, 13.5-, 13.8-, and 14-inch naval guns?

Short answer

Their adoption often depended more on national foundry capability and metric sizing than on a decisive inherent advantage between the calibres.

Notes

Nominal 13.4-, 13.5-, 13.8-, and 14-inch guns are judged broadly comparable, without a decisive inherent advantage from the small calibre difference alone. Their adoption depended on what particular foundries could build at a given date. A navy would choose the best heavy gun its industry could then produce. Several awkward inch labels also become rounder numbers in millimetres.