Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Q&A · 42:33-43:06

Furious may have inherited rather than originated the 18-inch gun

Concern about the shock of firing both guns leads to a qualified design-history argument that the weapon may have come from a larger bombardment concept before adaptation to HMS Furious.

18-inch GunsHMS FuriousMonitorsNaval GunneryWarship Design
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Question

Were the 18-inch guns truly designed around HMS Furious?

Short answer

Probably not; they may have originated in a larger bombardment design and then been adapted for Furious.

Notes

The damage HMS Furious might suffer from firing both 18-inch guns raises doubt that the weapons originated with that ship. They may have been adapted to Furious from a somewhat larger bombardment or monitor concept. That hypothesis would help explain awkward features in the gun's development and installation history. This remains an interpretation rather than a settled design fact, so the qualification is central to the answer.