Why rapid-fire 6-inch guns appealed to the Royal Navy

Would the Royal Navy have pursued a prewar autoloading 6-inch cruiser turret?

Yes. The Navy valued volume of accurate fire and expected 6-inch shells to disable sensors and systems even when they could not sink a capital ship outright.

British pre-radar gunnery favoured high firing rates because more shells created more chances to range and hit a target. Rapid 6-inch fire could also blind or disable a larger opponent even without sinking it. At the Battle of the North Cape, cruiser gunfire damaged and blinded Scharnhorst before HMS Duke of York delivered the decisive battleship attack. An autoloading 6-inch turret therefore matched an established preference for volume of fire and mission kills.