Danger inside an age-of-sail gun deck

The technical explanation gives way to what serving these weapons meant in battle. Crews worked in intense smoke, heat, noise, and confusion while enemy round shot struck the wooden hull around them. Splinters became dangerous projectiles in their own right, and a shot entering through a gun port could smash a carriage across the deck. If it struck a freshly loaded gun, the impact might also set the weapon off unexpectedly. Placed against the loading drill, the battle description explains why contemporary accounts of gun decks could resemble visions of hell.