The 10-inch gun shows why an apparently ideal middle calibre can disappoint in practice. Its rate of fire was often little better than that of 12- or 14-inch weapons, while 8-, 9.2-, and 9.4-inch guns could deliver ammunition much faster. At the upper end, heavier shells and machinery slow loading, turret training, and the spotting corrections needed to find the range. A battery also needs enough shell splashes to create a useful statistical chance of hitting a moving target. Number 13's eight guns in twin turrets were more workable than an extreme six-gun design despite the weight of its 18-inch, 50-calibre weapons.
Notable Point · 18:42-22:39
Calibre, rate of fire, and turret handling
The ten-inch-gun analogy shows how slower loading, turret movement, and spotting can erase the theoretical advantage of a larger shell.