The 4.5-inch system benefited from a between-deck mounting with room to distribute machinery across several levels; a 4.7-inch weapon given equivalent space could offer similar design freedom. Fleet-wide 4.7-inch ammunition would simplify supply across ships that historically carried several medium calibres. Higher elevation changes gun balance, loading geometry, bearings, and topweight, so the mount cannot simply be raised without further work. Early Tribal-class bearing problems show that even a familiar gun requires engineering effort in a new twin installation.
Notable Point · 1:02:25-1:06:16
Common ammunition still needs mount engineering
A common 4.7-inch family could simplify wartime supply, but achieving 80-degree elevation would still demand a carefully balanced redesigned mount.