The guns had been ordered for Salamis, then under construction in Germany, but the Royal Navy would not allow them through the blockade. Bethlehem Steel therefore faced the prospect that Britain would impound the shipment without paying for it. Charles M. Schwab approached Winston Churchill and arranged to sell the four twin turrets to Britain, leaving the Admiralty to find a use for an unfamiliar 14-inch weapon. The Royal Navy paired this unexpected heavy armament with the Army's demand for guns that could reach shore targets more effectively than deeper-draft warships. The blockade had turned a neutral supplier's stranded export order into an improvised British procurement opportunity.
Chapter · 5:12-8:58
How the Greek battleship Salamis supplied British monitor guns
Four Bethlehem Steel turrets stranded by the British blockade became the armament for purpose-built monitors instead of the Greek battleship Salamis.