American 16-inch/45 Mark 6 guns were unlikely to offer the quickest route to completing Lion-class battleships. The United States already faced its own supply demands, while Britain retained a 15-inch production line and spare barrels. An emergency British design could therefore have traded the planned 16-inch armament for readily obtainable 15-inch guns. Industrial availability can override a preferred paper specification when speed of construction becomes decisive.
Notable Point · 22:24-22:53
A 15-inch-gun stopgap for rapid Lion-class construction
An urgent Lion-class programme could have used British 15-inch guns because existing production and spare barrels offered a faster supply route than American 16-inch guns.