Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Q&A · 58:30-1:00:11

A sixteen-gun Japanese alternative to Yamato

Four quadruple 14-inch turrets offer firepower but create a more important treaty opportunity.

14-inch GunsBattleshipsImperial Japanese NavySecond London Naval Treaty (1936)Yamato Class Battleships
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Question

Would a Japanese battleship with four quadruple 14-inch turrets be better than Yamato at fighting multiple capital ships?

Short answer

Not necessarily as a ship, but adopting 14-inch guns could give Japan major leverage by locking rivals into the same treaty caliber.

Notes

Four quadruple 14-inch turrets would deliver a formidable sixteen-gun broadside. The smaller caliber would not by itself solve Japan's inability to build enough battleships for the strategy assigned to them. Its larger effect might be diplomatic: Japan could accept the 1936 14-inch treaty ceiling. That agreement would obstruct American plans centered on 16-inch guns even if the alternative Japanese ship remained strategically overambitious.