Britain needed an earlier, scalable dual-purpose weapon instead of a collection of closely spaced calibers for destroyers and cruisers. A large navy can order enough of each gun to make every design appear economical, but it must then supply all of their incompatible ammunition. That burden was manageable when the decisive theater lay close to British factories in the North Sea. It became much more serious when ships fought around the world. Gun design was directly tied to industrial scale, ammunition distribution, and operational reach.
Notable Point · 52:43-1:01:03
Too many gun calibers for a global war
The Royal Navy's overlapping four-inch to 5.5-inch weapons illustrate how individually reasonable gun choices can create a worldwide ammunition problem.