The same full-scale firings that tested armour also produced evidence about projectiles. Shell failures were known, but manufacturers would not budge and repeated attempts to raise the issue went nowhere. Euphemistic wording and shifting phrases could obscure an uncomfortable technical result. The data could change procurement only if someone asked the cross-cutting question and accepted the consequences.
Notable Point · 12:22-13:33
Armour trials exposed shell failures nobody wanted to examine
Full-scale armour firings also generated evidence about defective shells, but manufacturers and naval institutions had little incentive to confront it.