The 14-inch gun Dreadnought that might have changed the arms race

What if Britain had begun the dreadnought era with a 14-inch-gun design rather than the historical Dreadnought?

The larger gun was available and would have made Dreadnought more powerful, but adopting it traded the proven Lord Nelson turret shortcut for possible cost and schedule delay.

The industrial choice was available in 1905 because Elswick's 14-inch/45-calibre weapon existed while Dreadnought was being planned. The real design reused 12-inch gun and turret machinery associated with the Lord Nelson class, reducing cost and protecting the rapid construction schedule. Choosing the larger weapon might have delayed entry into service, although that delay is uncertain. The immediate procurement trade-off leads into the wider arms-race consequences developed in the following discussion.