The King George V alternative carries twelve 14-inch guns in four triple turrets. The arrangement could have reduced the mechanical risk associated with quadruple turrets while increasing the broadside, although displacement might require some reduction in magazine protection. Treaty limits, weight, production speed, and turret maturity had to be traded together. A larger design would take longer to build and work against the programme's urgent replacement timetable. These technical choices followed the programme's procurement priorities.
Notable Point · 46:27-48:00
A twelve-gun alternative to King George V
Four triple 14-inch turrets offered a possible route to greater gun numbers with less mechanical novelty than the adopted quadruple mounts.