The completed design used two wing turrets to provide the six-gun forward fire that Fisher valued. Contemporary pre-dreadnoughts already used wing turrets, including the Lord Nelson class discussed in the video. Removing them could have allowed a longer, narrower hull and possibly raised the speed above the 21-knot benchmark. Dreadnought's layout was a compromise among firing arcs, hull proportions, machinery, and speed, rather than an inevitable final form.
Notable Point · 6:38-7:43
Wing turrets and Fisher's forward-fire priority
Dreadnought's wing turrets reflected Fisher's desire to bring six heavy guns to bear ahead and the influence of existing pre-dreadnought practice.