Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Q&A · 2:43:03-2:45:14

A 20-inch Tillman II would destroy the treaty pause

A sixteen-gun, 20-inch Tillman design would provoke infrastructure expansion and a renewed capital-ship race instead of naval limitation.

Imperial Japanese NavyNaval Arms RaceNaval GunneryTillman Maximum Battleship DesignsWashington Naval Treaty
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Question

Could Tillman II mount quadruple 20-inch guns, and how would Japan react if the design became public?

Short answer

The rough geometry is plausible, but the result would trigger a major arms race, undermine treaty limitation, and force rival dockyard expansion.

Notes

The speakers accept the rough gun-count tradeoff that could turn Tillman II's sextuple 16-inch mounts into quadruple 20-inch mounts. A ship carrying sixteen such weapons would make a Washington-style treaty settlement far less plausible because other navies could not treat it as a marginal improvement. Japan would face an extreme new threat, while Britain would resume the dockyard and infrastructure investment it had planned in recurring prewar cycles. The large battery could also stagger fire by turret during ranging, offsetting some of the slow rate of fire before delivering full salvos.