When long guns could fit a support plan

Would longer guns be practical with enough spare barrels and a low expected operational tempo?

Yes. Adequate spares and limited firing demands could support them, while a proposed barrel-repair ship offered another way to provide maintenance capacity.

A reserve of spare barrels and a modest expected operational tempo could make the longer guns workable. Those conditions reduce the pressure created by frequent replacement. The discussion also describes an American proposal for a dedicated barrel-repair ship. Its machinery would use electrical power to produce the heat needed to expand a barrel and change its lining. The vessel is described as a proposal, with no claim that it entered service.