Wing turrets, spotting positions, and Dreadnought's design restrictions

The spotting position should have been forward of the first funnel. Senior officers excluded junior contributors who identified such problems, while Fisher preferred advisers who agreed with him. His stated objections to triple turrets and superfiring mounts, combined with a requirement for six guns firing forward, explain the wing-turret arrangement in this interpretation. Centerline triple turrets could instead support a longer, narrower hull and a fifteen-gun broadside. Greater length relative to beam helps speed within structural limits, while shorter, broader hulls favor maneuverability and often stability. The proposed fifteen 13.5-inch guns are compared with twenty 12-inch guns in broadside weight, or the long-range firepower of five pre-dreadnoughts. A ship with that long-range firepower and a six-knot speed advantage was intended to make older opponents reluctant to engage.