Gun handling turned personnel into part of deterrence

A 100-pound six-inch shell sat near the upper limit that one exceptionally strong sailor could handle, so gun crews deliberately trained loaders to build the required strength. That human limit helped make the calibre attractive because it preserved a practical loading cycle without machinery for every movement. Those trained sailors also mattered ashore, where a lieutenant might need a disciplined party capable of making authority visible without firing. Physical size alone did not decide a confrontation, but deterrence depended partly on what an observer could recognize at once. Gunnery organization, personnel training, and the display of naval presence reinforced one another.