The Cressys concentrated their strength on the broadside, with a pair of 9.2-inch guns backed by twelve six-inch weapons and a large quick-firing battery. Four of the six six-inch guns on each side sat low enough to become difficult to use in rough water. That limitation reflected expectations of Channel and Mediterranean service rather than the harsher South Atlantic or high-latitude seas. The 9.2-inch shell weighed nearly four times as much as the standard six-inch shell, giving the ship a slower-firing but much harder-hitting weapon for an armored opponent. The arrangement explains both why the class looked formidable on paper and why weather could sharply reduce its practical broadside.
Notable Point · 32:09-36:32
Cressy armament and the cost of low casemates
The class carried a formidable 9.2-inch and six-inch battery, but much of its broadside could be masked by heavy seas.