At roughly nine to ten kilometres, the ships are inside both torpedo and six-inch-gun range, an exceptionally close distance by Jutland standards. Even local control should make hits much more likely than the simulation suggests, before accounting for the ships' formal fire-control systems. Eight-inch shells produce more visible damage than either the six- or 15-inch weapons in this game state, showing how rate of fire and hit frequency can outweigh nominal calibre within the simulation. The visible deck fires also expose the absence of fire-suppression systems, so the damage model omits an important layer of ship survivability. The prolonged engagement shows why ammunition stowage matters. The player-designed Italian ship carries more 15-inch rounds than the computer-generated opponent because endurance was considered during construction. A force that exhausts its ammunition must disengage if it can, since armour and speed can no longer produce an offensive effect.
Notable Point · 1:30:41-1:41:18
Torpedo range, fire control, and ammunition endurance
The Italian-Spanish trial becomes a discussion of fighting around torpedo range, local control, secondary hits, and ammunition capacity.