Britain could have pursued a modernized Nelson-type design or a battery using the established fifteen-inch calibre. Nine fifteen-inch or nine sixteen-inch guns are proposed as alternatives to King George V's fourteen-inch armament. The smaller gun was intended to encourage other navies to accept lower limits, despite Japan's departure from the treaty system and intelligence suggesting Japanese battleships with 17.5-inch guns. The Third Sea Lord is recalled from design papers as having opposed the design at some points and accepted the First Sea Lord's preference at others. That account supports a criticism of the institutional decision behind the armament as well as the turret machinery itself.
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Fourteen-inch gun policy met foreign and Admiralty resistance
The preference for fourteen-inch guns sought international restraint while Japan left the treaty system and objections arose inside the Admiralty.