The shell problem remained tied to doctrine inherited from the Battle of Tsushima and pre-dreadnought combat. Long-range heavy-gun fire had once been expected to weaken an opponent before ships closed and six-inch guns helped finish the action. The Royal Navy then advanced toward sustained long-range gunnery without fully revising what its heavy projectiles needed to accomplish after striking armour. Defective armour-piercing shells were part of a wider mismatch between new fire-control capability and older assumptions about how a fleet battle would be fought.
Notable Point · 23:48-24:19
Long-range gunnery outgrew Tsushima-era ammunition doctrine
British gunnery ranges increased before 1914, but shell assumptions still reflected a battle plan in which heavy fire softened an enemy for a close-range finish.