Q&A · 31:11-32:12

Faster loading requires a redesigned German turret

A rate-of-fire counterfactual explains why adapting Dunkerque-style rigid-chain loading to German 11-inch guns would require redesign of the rammer and the surrounding turret.

Question

Would Dunkerque-style rigid-chain loading improve the rate of fire of German 11-inch guns?

Short answer

Possibly by about half a round per minute, but only with a substantial redesign of the turret and its ammunition-handling systems.

Notes

All-angle rigid-chain loading might add roughly half a round per minute overall. The mechanism could not simply be inserted into the existing mount: ammunition handling, working spaces, and the surrounding turret arrangement would need substantial redesign. A faster loading component changes the architecture that supports it.