Fisher and Churchill first expected the monitors to receive turrets freed by the conversion of Renown and Repulse into battlecruisers. When those mounts were delayed, the Royal Navy diverted two turrets intended for HMS Ramillies. Ramillies had been laid down before several of her sisters but did not enter service until September 1917. Heavy guns and turrets were among a warship's longest-lead components, while shallow-draft monitor hulls could be built more quickly. The transfer therefore imposed a direct choice between coastal bombardment and completing the battle fleet.
Notable Point · 8:18-16:39
Ramillies gives up her turrets for the Marshal Ney monitors
Turret delays redirected two 15-inch mounts from HMS Ramillies to the monitors, exposing the long lead time and opportunity cost of capital-ship guns.