An earlier Royal Navy example points to a steadier route. The 3-inch, 76 mm, 12-pounder appeared across many applications in the 1900s and 1910s and became a de facto standard without a formal campaign to impose it. Its sustained usefulness allowed commonality to emerge. The interwar gun programs repeatedly disrupted that process by treating each new technology as the next permanent answer.
Notable Point · 6:46-7:36
How a 12-pounder became a de facto standard
The widely used 3-inch, 76 mm, 12-pounder became a de facto Royal Navy standard in the 1900s and 1910s without a campaign to impose the latest technology.