Would a successful General Belgrano gun action have pushed naval development back toward gun-heavy ships?
Short answerIt would have had an impact, but probably not a full return to many guns; twin-gun mountings are a more plausible effect.
NotesThis counterfactual imagines ARA General Belgrano reaching a gunfight with British surface forces during the Falklands War. Such an event could affect later naval thinking because combat evidence can reopen assumptions that seemed settled. A full return to ships carrying large numbers of guns is unlikely. Renewed interest in twin-gun mountings is the more plausible design effect.