The cost argument against a 16.5-inch Colorado rebore

Would the Colorado-class battleships have been rebored from 16-inch to 16.5-inch guns in response to a British move to that caliber?

The panel expects rejection on cost grounds, judging the half-inch increase too small to justify reboring the existing guns.

The panel expects Congress to question the cost of reboring the Colorado-class guns for only another half inch of calibre. In that assessment, the increase would not offer enough additional capability to justify modifying the existing ships. A British 16.5-inch weapon could still influence a later American design. The answer concerns a hypothetical procurement decision, without identifying an actual congressional vote on such a conversion.