An unnamed navy, explicitly identified as neither British nor American, discovered that main-gun fire aboard cruisers built in the 1920s and 1930s could trigger prepared torpedo launchers. Launch charges were already loaded for the next test because the navy was trying to save money by scheduling gun and torpedo trials close together. Vibration or concussion from the gunfire appears to have triggered those charges, although the precise mechanism is uncertain. The accidental discovery reproduced a combat configuration that separate trials might have missed, and the fault required a manageable fix. As postwar radars became more sensitive, repeated heavy-gun salvos could knock delicate instruments slightly out of alignment without destroying the set outright. This could delay adoption of more sensitive radars on cruisers until protection against their own gunfire had been developed. Demonstrating these effects gave designers evidence for shock protection and funding authorities a concrete reason to pay for it.
Notable Point · 45:45-48:35
Gunfire-induced weapons and electronics failures
An interwar cruiser that launched torpedoes when its guns fired, followed by postwar radar alignment failures, demonstrates the value of testing systems together under realistic shock.