Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Q&A · 2:18:50-2:19:37

Fisher's Dreadnought and the value of gun volume

Fisher's preference for enough guns to sustain long-range fire makes twin 14-inch turrets more plausible than single 16-inch mounts in this counterfactual.

14-inch GunsAlternate HistoryBattleshipsHMS DreadnoughtJohn FisherLord Nelson Class BattleshipsNaval GunneryRoyal NavyShip Design
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Question

Would Fisher have built HMS Dreadnought with single 16-inch turrets?

Short answer

No. Single 16-inch mounts lack the long-range volume of fire Fisher wanted; an earlier adoption of 14-inch guns could instead have led to twin 14-inch mounts.

Notes

Single 16-inch turrets would not provide the volume of fire Fisher wanted for HMS Dreadnought at long range. Elswick had repeatedly tried to sell Britain a 14-inch gun for its battleships. Had Britain adopted that weapon for the Lord Nelson class, Dreadnought could plausibly have followed with twin 14-inch turrets. The proposal links gun calibre to the number of guns available for long-range fire.