Originally posted by Dreadnought
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I suspect that had time allowed, the ships would have been built with the 16" turret design from Nelson, but the turrets had to be ordered by mid 36 if the ship completion was not to be delayed. At that time, the RN was still trying to have a 14" gun limit on battleships, hence the North Carolina having a layout with 14" guns. As the USN could afford a completion delay, they got their 16" guns after the failure to secure a 14" gun limit.
What is really impressive is the judgement of the Admiralty board that completion could not be delayed in any way and that being correct for events 5 years later.
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