Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Q&A · 29:02-31:57

Could the Queen Elizabeth class carry triple 15-inch turrets?

Monitor trials and turret-ring dimensions explain why a twelve-gun Queen Elizabeth modernization was considered technically possible but difficult to support with ammunition.

Naval GunneryQueen Elizabeth Class BattleshipsTurret Design
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Question

Could the Queen Elizabeth class have been rearmed with triple 15-inch turrets?

Short answer

The turret rings made it technically possible, but ammunition storage and the scale of the conversion made the proposal difficult.

Notes

The Queen Elizabeth class had turret-ring dimensions compatible with the related triple-mount experiment tested in a monitor. Renown, Repulse, and the R class had smaller rings and could not accept the same change as readily. The main obstacle for the Queen Elizabeths was finding enough magazine space for four triple turrets and twelve guns. A retrofit would also need stability work such as torpedo bulges and might lose two or three knots, whereas a longer and wider ship designed around the battery from the outset could retain broadly similar speed. Fitting a turret was physically possible, but operating the larger battery required changes throughout the ship.