The proposed gun could replace four-inch or 4.5-inch fits on carriers, older battleships, cruisers, destroyers, and escorts. Demand for 4.7-inch ammunition would rise sharply, but depots and ships would no longer need to manage three nearby calibres for similar roles. A notional network of twenty-four factories illustrates the resilience gain: losing one common-calibre plant removes a much smaller share of total output than losing one of seven specialist plants. Standardization reduces the operational inconvenience of mixed ammunition and the strategic risk of concentrated production. The factory counts illustrate the supply-chain trade-off and do not represent a historical inventory.
Chapter · 46:06-48:54
A common calibre makes wartime supply more resilient
Replacing separate four-inch, 4.5-inch, and 4.7-inch ammunition streams with one widely produced round changes both fleet logistics and the vulnerability of wartime manufacturing.