Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Q&A · 3:30:12-3:30:40

Why destroyers avoided a single 5.25-inch gun

The Royal Navy already spread development across 4-, 4.5-, 4.7-, 5-, and 5.5-inch weapons, so another single 5.25-inch destroyer mounting would worsen fragmentation.

5.25-inch GunsDestroyersDual Purpose GunsNaval ProcurementRoyal Navy
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Question

Did the Royal Navy consider a single 5.25-inch gun mounting for large destroyers?

Short answer

Fortunately not; the service already had too many overlapping medium-caliber gun projects.

Notes

The Royal Navy was better off without a single 5.25-inch destroyer gun in its development portfolio. The service was already working across 4-, 4.5-, 4.7-, 5-, and 5.5-inch calibers at different points. Another weapon would divide design effort, ammunition support, and production still further. Near-duplicate gun systems carried an institutional cost even when each individual proposal had technical appeal.