Trading 4.5-inch rate of fire for a heavier 155 mm shell

Would the lower rate of fire of a 155 mm gun be an acceptable trade for a Royal Navy destroyer?

Yes, especially if contemporary automation raised it above twelve rounds per minute while retaining the heavier shell.

The comparison begins with a 4.5-inch Mark 8 firing twenty to twenty-six rounds per minute and a proposed 155 mm gun firing twelve. With comparable technology, the larger gun is expected to achieve closer to fifteen to eighteen rounds per minute. That would make the reduction in firing rate an acceptable trade in the Royal Navy destroyer case. Manually loaded six-inch guns already approached ten rounds per minute in the 1940s, so a weapon designed with 1970s or 1980s automation should improve substantially on that performance.