At 1,240 tons, USS Lackawanna displaced less than half as much as the 2,900-ton Hartford but still kept up in the fight. She carried an unusually mixed set of Dahlgren smoothbores, rifles, and howitzers because the expanding Union fleet fitted whatever weapons were available. Such a battery complicated crew management and gave guns on the same ship different operating characteristics. Peacetime standardisation simplifies training, firing, ammunition supply, and maintenance. Industrial depth determines whether a navy can choose uniformity or must make do with a heterogeneous arsenal during emergency construction.
Notable Point · 46:21-48:14
Why emergency fleets carry mixed armaments
Lackawanna's varied battery illustrates the practical trade-off between standardisation and getting a wartime fleet into service quickly.