Low-rate coastal turret production preserves capital-ship skills

Should Britain have built heavy coastal turrets during the interwar years to retain the skills later needed for capital ships?

Yes; a low-rate program of ship-standard turrets at major bases could provide defense, employment, and continuous development of guns and mountings.

One proposal is a slow, continuous production line for heavy turrets placed at strategic bases such as Gibraltar, Singapore, Malta, Scapa Flow, and British ports. The batteries would provide real defenses while keeping designers, factories, and gunmakers at work. Repeated production would also support progressive improvements to the 16-inch gun and mounting, potentially yielding a mature later mark before the King George V or Lion programs. Continuity of production can be a strategic asset even when the immediate output is installed ashore.