Britain's G3 design was associated with a 16.5-inch gun project that developed from earlier heavy British weapons. Capping treaty guns at 16 inches would force both the ship and its armament to be redesigned. The later Nelson-class 16-inch gun drew on German light-projectile test data instead of simply continuing the same heavy-shell lineage. This change of technical path may help explain why the eventual British 16-inch weapon used a notably light shell despite remaining a capable gun.
Notable Point · 58:18-1:00:08
A treaty ceiling redirects British gun development
The proposed 16-inch ceiling does more than resize the G3: it pushes Britain from a 16.5-inch lineage toward the lighter weapon later carried by Nelson and Rodney.