An armoured citadel that left the guns exposed

The nine-foot-high belt avoided the immersion problem seen in some contemporary designs, so Shannon's armour remained usefully above the waterline. That improvement solved only one part of the protection problem because none of her gun positions sat behind armour. Her heavy weapons therefore remained vulnerable even though the ship carried the weight of a substantial citadel. This contrast is a concise lesson in why armour must protect the systems that let a warship fight, not merely survive hits.