Vanguard's design compromises and a 16-inch alternative

Could Vanguard have been made more viable with different armament choices?

A 16-inch battery might have improved commonality with the United States and made her easier to sustain after the war.

Vanguard was constrained by the need to use available components. Her existing armament and great size made her a wartime answer assembled around what Britain possessed, rather than a clean expression of a new design philosophy. A 16-inch battery could have shared ammunition development with the Iowa class and preserved more long-term utility. Common ammunition and a more distinctive heavy-gun capability might have made retaining the battleship easier to justify during the Cold War.