Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Q&A · 54:11-56:26

A British five-inch gun for Type 45

A British five-inch gun would draw the country into an ammunition development program, probably through Italian Vulcano cooperation, without greatly changing the Type 45 hull.

Naval GunneryNaval ProcurementRoyal NavyType 45 DestroyerVulcano Ammunition
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Question

What else changes if Britain fields a 127 mm quick-firing gun by the time of the Type 45 destroyer?

Short answer

The ships change little, but Britain becomes a participant in a five-inch gun and ammunition program, probably leaning toward the Italian Vulcano route.

Notes

The main consequences are industrial and ammunition choices rather than a wholesale Type 45 redesign. Britain would have to choose between American and Italian five-inch ammunition families. The timing makes cooperation on Vulcano-style rounds plausible. Adopting a gun calibre would therefore pull the navy into a wider development ecosystem even if the hull changed little.