Firing trials reveal how one system affects another, such as whether an Iowa-class battleship can use its 5-inch battery while the 16-inch guns are firing. Computer modeling is a recent addition to a much older practice. Warships, including ships of the line in the age of sail, went on shakedown or commissioning cruises to reveal faults under working conditions. The purpose was to expose failures before combat did.
Notable Point · 1:12:10-1:13:11
Shakedown cruises tested ships long before computer modeling
Sea trials and commissioning cruises supplied practical evidence for sail-era and later warships when designers could not simulate the complete ship ashore.