Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Q&A · 1:00:34-1:02:25

Why longer naval guns depend on better metallurgy

A 50-calibre heavy gun was not simply a longer version of an existing weapon because barrel weight, stiffness, and thermal movement tested the limits of contemporary metallurgy.

F3 BattlecruiserGun BarrelsMetallurgyNaval GunneryRoyal NavyUS Navy
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Question

Would British capital ships be refitted with 15-inch/50 guns?

Short answer

A 45-calibre gun was more plausible because reliable longer barrels depended on metallurgical advances not yet available.

Notes

British rebuilds would most plausibly use a 45-calibre weapon rather than assume a reliable 50-calibre gun was ready. Longer barrels must remain straight and strong through their own weight, firing stress, sunlight, salt water, heating, and cooling. Those demands explain why American 16-inch/50 weapons and similar designs required later metallurgical development. Navies generally built to the practical limit of their materials, so a longer calibre length cannot be inserted into an earlier decade without changing the industrial base.