The pace of gunnery change created an institutional as well as technical challenge. Officers could begin their careers around systems still recognisable from the Napoleonic era and later encounter weapons credible into the Second World War. Modern fast-moving technical fields offer a useful comparison: professionals had to keep learning as chemistry, engineering, and control systems changed around them. Early twentieth-century naval officers therefore faced a much wider technological span than the older continuity of the age of sail suggests.
Notable Point · 17:48-20:15
Rapid weapons change demanded continuous professional learning
Officers who began with near-Napoleonic-era systems had to understand weapons and controls that would remain credible into the world-war era.