The test fits as many 5.5-inch weapons as possible on a 1920 light-cruiser hull, eventually producing a broadside of roughly thirty guns from a battery of more than forty. Some triple mountings give way to twins because nominal gun count is only one measure of a workable arrangement. Balance, placement, and firing sectors matter too. The resulting ship resembles a small battleship and would pour out an extraordinary weight of fire against surface targets or aircraft. Such a battery would also consume ammunition very quickly, exposing the difference between fitting weapons and supporting them in combat.
Chapter · 37:13-52:39
A light cruiser built around massed 5.5-inch fire
A viewer request for forty 5.5-inch guns becomes an experiment in mounting a huge rapid-fire battery without losing every useful firing arc.