Arguments that treat one firm's cranes or quenching wells as fixed national limits overlook how gun works adapted. Elswick was one of several British manufacturers. By about 1916 or 1917, it had ordered roughly four major crane upgrades over the preceding twenty years, besides modifications made by its engineers as gun weights rose. Quenching wells had likewise been lengthened and deepened over successive generations of weapons. These changes could be difficult and costly, but they do not answer whether the resulting barrel would be structurally sound and militarily worthwhile.
Notable Point · 3:37-8:27
Cranes and quenching wells could be expanded
Gun works could upgrade lifting gear and enlarge quenching wells, so factory infrastructure was an administrative and logistical problem rather than the decisive obstacle to a larger gun.