How effective would the proposed GW96 cruiser's gun battery have been at San Carlos?
Short answerIt likely would have destroyed most aircraft attacking through the anchorage approaches.
NotesGW96's proposed battery could overwhelm aircraft entering the confined approaches to San Carlos Water. The automatic large-calibre guns would provide a very high volume of fire, while exploding shrapnel ammunition made the beaten airspace especially dangerous for low-flying Argentine aircraft. The assessment is deliberately strong: a functioning cruiser in the anchorage could have destroyed most attackers coming through that route. One concentrated air-defence platform might therefore change the local geometry of an amphibious operation.