The classic tactical image of crossing an enemy's T assumes the target cannot return its full fire without presenting a broadside. Nelson complicates that calculation because six guns, and at some angles nearly the whole heavy battery, can engage forward while the hull remains angled. The crossing ship exposes its machinery spaces across a broad target while firing into Nelson's narrow, heavily armoured forward aspect. The arrangement still had firing-arc limits, but it altered the relative risks to machinery spaces and targeting accuracy.
Notable Point · 50:35-51:53
Why crossing the T could be dangerous against Nelson
A conventional attempt to cross Nelson's T could expose an opponent's broadside while leaving Nelson able to fire a large forward salvo from a narrow aspect.