Fire-control computing matters at the system level

How much faster would naval gunnery become if officers had pocket calculators?

The biggest improvement would come from integrating a processor into central fire control, not simply replacing an officer’s slide rule.

The answer first notes that individual benefit would vary because some gunnery officers were already exceptionally quick with mental arithmetic or slide rules. A handheld calculator would not automatically shorten every step in observation, plotting, communication, and correction. The larger gain comes from embedding electronic computation in the central fire-control table, where repeated calculations can update the whole firing solution. Integration matters more than merely giving one officer a faster arithmetic tool.