On 12 June 1901, Formidable fired five rounds from her forward 12-inch turret and seven from the after turret. The guns had been proofed and their barrel life studied, but this formal trial amounted to only twelve heavy-gun shots. Such a small sample could confirm basic operation without providing the sustained testing needed to expose defects in shells or service conditions. An apparently successful commissioning test could therefore coexist with weaknesses that became much more visible in wartime.
Notable Point · 8:21-9:14
Formidable’s twelve-round gunnery trial
Formidable’s 1901 trial used only twelve heavy-gun rounds, illustrating the gap between confirming that guns worked and testing ammunition exhaustively.