British design studies and resistance to triple turrets

The M2 and M3 design studies are recalled as a comparison between four twin turrets and three triples. Producing the twin-turret alternative allowed designers to answer those insisting on it with a worked design. The discussion then considers the guns Dreadnought might have carried if triple turrets had been accepted. Her five twin turrets gave ten guns in total but only eight on a broadside, whereas later British layouts could bring all ten to bear. Superfiring arrangements created further opportunities to reconsider triples, although the navy retained twins. The example shows how a rejected alternative can still matter in an institutional design argument.