A reference-book check in the Courbet-class discussion gives an elevation increase from 12 to 23 degrees and a quoted range increase from 13,500 to 26,000 metres. Two turrets are said to have needed a return to the centreline before reloading, but the panel cannot securely identify which mounts the reference means. Traversing back from a broadside would add considerable time to the loading cycle. The discussion also attributes France's delay in ordering dreadnoughts until 1909 to technical limitations and the long influence of the Jeune École.
Notable Point · 1:05:40-1:08:50
Courbet turret loading and France's delayed dreadnoughts
An uncertain Courbet turret detail shows how training and loading arrangements affect salvo intervals.