Prince of Wales needed months of workup before Denmark Strait

How far was Prince of Wales from being fully worked up, and why did the King George V class retain quadruple turrets?

She probably needed four to six more months, while sunk design effort and the desire for ten 14-inch guns kept the quadruple-turret scheme alive.

Prince of Wales fought at Denmark Strait before her crew and machinery had completed a normal workup. Another four to six months would have been desirable. When the intended three quadruple turrets proved impractical, the Royal Navy did consider three triples, but too much design effort had already gone into the quadruple mount. Triple 15- or 16-inch turrets would have been easier to develop because the service already had experience with triples in Nelson and Rodney.