Q&A · 2:46:18-2:46:31

Could 4.5-inch guns on King George V have helped the Didos?

Giving the battleships 4.5-inch secondaries could have released scarce 5.25-inch mounts for cruisers and accelerated construction.

Dido Class Light Cruisers Dual Purpose Guns King George V Class Battleships (1939)Naval Gunnery Naval Industrial Capacity Royal Navy

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Question

Could King George V have used 4.5-inch guns so scarce 5.25-inch mounts went to the Dido class?

Short answer

Yes. The change could have freed mounts for Dido and possibly accelerated battleship construction.

Notes

The proposed reallocation was sensible. Substituting 4.5-inch guns on the King George V class would make more 5.25-inch weapons available for Dido-class cruisers. It might also have reduced a production bottleneck and sped completion of the battleships themselves.