Reducing smoke did not solve the whole propellant problem, because uneven performance between nominally identical charges or barrels could widen shell dispersion. With fewer guns and longer engagement ranges, a small inconsistency had more influence on the chance of obtaining a hit. Age-of-sail ships compensated through many cannon firing at close range, whereas later ships increasingly depended on each large weapon behaving predictably. The comparison shows why consistent charges and barrels mattered as much as a propellant's headline range.
Notable Point · 31:51-34:19
Propellant consistency controlled shell dispersion
A low-smoke or long-range propellant was still unsuitable if uneven performance made otherwise identical shots disperse unpredictably.