Cressy class cruisers are uniform 9.2"

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All the World's Battlecruisers-Alternative Lord Nelsons.

Hello (Sorry, posted this question already in another forum but want to hear some opinions here) The Lord Nelson preliminary desings include a number
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on Alternate Lord Nelsons, John French has noted

In 1897, the DNO, Captain Kane, made a suggestion for the Cressy class cruisers, then being designed, that power loading technology had advanced to a level where a 9.2-inch gun could be utilized as a reliable rapid fire weapon that it could replace the 6-inch in the rapid fire role, allowing the Cressy’s to carry a uniform armament of 9.2-inch guns. This very forward thinking suggestion was rejected,



So what would be the implications of a uniform 9.2" Cressy?

What happens when what would become the Monmouth class get designed?

What does an all uniform 9.2" gun cruiser do for battleships?
 
It doesn't particularly change the calculus of ship designs. The fact that it was referred to as a "rapid fire weapon" means that Kane was still thinking in terms of short-range "hail of fire" engagements, as was the tactical orthodoxy of the time. Long-range director-controlled fire is still some years off, and with it the dreadnought revolution.

As far as the Monmouths, there's a good chance they'll mount 7.5" guns instead of a uniform 6" battery.

And as for the battleships, mostly an earlier move to an intermediate battery, likely of 9.2" guns.
 
Increasing the gun size without a corresponding improvement in long-range gunfire accuracy is worthless. Doesn't matter what larger gun you choose. A 9.2" Cressy with 1900-ish fire controls was no more likely to survive a fight with say a large armored cruiser like the US "Big ten" type (4 x 10" guns) and 8 to 10 6" in broadside casemates. The smaller guns could fire sufficiently faster that they'd smother the target better than larger guns that provided some penetration power in an era where firing beyond about 5,000 yards was difficult to do.

Putting a Dreyer table on a cruiser with a rangefinder or three, and good communications does more to ensure the ship can dish out major damage without taking it in return.

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