Dardanelles reconnaissance and gunfire spotting

The ship extended the battleships' ability to locate, follow, and engage targets through smoke. Four 12-pounder guns, described as 3-inch or 76 mm weapons, provided limited anti-aircraft and self-defence armament. The ship's real influence came from eight floatplanes used for reconnaissance, observation, and gunfire spotting. The Dardanelles campaign supplied an operational setting for these missions. At Jutland, unreliable radio technology showed that an aircraft could see useful information without the fleet receiving it.