What loading arrangements would follow an early move to reliable breech-loading guns?
Short answerNew ammunition handling and hoists would be needed, potentially adapted from methods used to lift heavy loads in mines.
NotesReliable breech-loading guns in the early-Welin scenario would also require different ammunition handling. One proposal would store ammunition on a gun deck and move it along rails. The alternative favours adapting existing hoist technology. Mining equipment provides an analogy for lifting heavy loads vertically in confined spaces. A naval arrangement based on that machinery remains a proposal.