Italy and France could respond to British, American and Japanese escalation by joining the race or standing aside. Italy already had a good 15-inch gun and less certainty about producing a 16-inch weapon, giving it a practical reason to keep its own approach. That could keep it out of an 18-inch competition. A Japanese move to 20-inch battleship guns would, in this projection, force Britain and the United States beyond their initial 16-inch response and intensify pressure on the others.
Notable Point · 16:54-18:24
Italy and France could avoid the largest battleship-gun race
Existing gun-making strengths could keep Mediterranean navies outside a race driven by Japanese escalation.