Spanish guns also served as an artillery train for the intended land campaign, which favoured long carriages and equipment that could work ashore. A muzzle-loading gun had to be hauled in, worked from the front, and run out again inside a narrow hull. A longer, heavier carriage demanded more space, time, and crew effort at every stage. Those costs accumulated during sustained fire even though the cannon technology itself was broadly comparable. The practical difference lay in the firing cycle.
Chapter · 20:14-23:30
Gun carriages, space, and rate of fire
The practical difference in Armada-era gunnery lay less in the cannon than in the carriage, crew effort, and cramped space needed to reload at sea.