What Warhammer 40K ship design most makes the panel question what its designers were thinking?
Short answerBroadside-heavy designs look odd for space combat, but the setting explains many as surviving siege-barge patterns built to bombard planets and absorb planetary fire.
NotesWarhammer 40K's broadside batteries raise a question about firing arcs in space. The explanation offered is that many surviving designs descend from siege barges, while older purpose-built warships had turret arrangements compared with those of the Second World War. Siege barges needed to survive fire from planetary defences, and their targets could not dodge. Imperial Navy tactics compensate for restricted arcs by rotating a ship when an opponent moves out of its broadside.