Shell quality mattered more than promises of a new design

The discussion explains that explosive effect depends on the shell surviving long enough to contain and direct the blast. Lyddite could be powerful, but a disintegrating shell could scatter its charge or let it fizzle instead of producing the intended effect. Armour trials used shells specially ordered for controlled conditions, allowing manufacturers to supply ammunition of a quality not necessarily matched by rounds loaded and fired at sea. The watch point therefore separates the chemistry of an explosive from the construction quality and realistic handling that determine whether a naval shell actually works.