The discussion argues that a 14-inch shell remains a serious threat once it gets through armour, and that salvo density can create that opportunity. Initial hits can damage systems or armour, while later hits may exploit the resulting weakness. Radar fire control and a hoped-for high loading rate were meant to put many shells near the target quickly enough for cumulative damage to matter. This is a fire-control and rate-of-fire argument, rather than a claim that smaller guns automatically equal larger ones in single-hit penetration. Slowing a difficult target could be enough for Nelson or Rodney to finish it with heavier guns. Barrel heating constrained the proposed rate of fire, and designers considered distilled-water and other cooling arrangements. Treaties alone did not dictate the 14-inch choice; British confidence that the ambitious quadruple mount could be delivered within the allotted tonnage and time was the deeper problem.
Notable Point · 3:21:20-3:26:20
Why a fast 14-inch salvo could still be decisive
High shell volume could turn 14-inch fire into cumulative damage, but the concept also depended on cooling, loading, fire control, and an over-optimistic quadruple-turret programme.