Where sabot rounds could help interwar naval guns

How useful would modern sabot ammunition be if taken back to the Royal Navy of the early 1930s?

Its small bursting charge limits general use, but Nelson and Rodney could gain a specialised armour-piercing option by firing a 15-inch sub-calibre projectile from their 16-inch guns.

The panel contrasts army enthusiasm for extreme penetration with a navy's preference for a meaningful bursting charge after a shell enters the target. A sub-caliber sabot projectile carries less explosive effect than a conventional naval shell, so improved armor penetration does not automatically make it better for general ship-to-ship fire. Nelson and Rodney form an important exception because a 15-inch projectile fired from their 16-inch guns might gain useful ballistic and penetration performance. The answer is therefore specialized rather than universal: sabot technology offers particular weapons new options but does not replace the ordinary high-explosive and armor-piercing magazine.