Would qualitative limits encourage big-gun submarines?

Would this treaty environment produce more big-gun cruiser submarines?

Probably not many; altered limits could permit them, but their operational disadvantages would still constrain the concept.

Big-gun submarines remain limited by their own practical problems even in a world of larger treaty categories. Their low surface rate of fire already makes combat against warships hazardous. If standard cruisers displace 18,000 to 20,000 tons, light cruisers reach 12,000 to 15,000 tons, and destroyers grow to 3,000 or 4,000 tons, the submarine's potential opponents become more formidable. A large gun does not give the submarine the protection, sensors, or sustained firepower of those surface ships. Qualitative limits might permit the concept while making its intended surface-combat role even less credible.