Why early dreadnought turret layouts risked their own ships

Rivadavia, Von der Tann, USS Texas, and HMS Dreadnought illustrate several early turret arrangements. A quoted warning about Rivadavia notes that waist-turret blast could dent smoke pipes and damage their uptakes if the guns fired fore or aft. On wing-turret ships, the inner gun could strike the ship with its own blast, while cross-deck fire threatened deck plating, the spaces beneath it, and nearby crew. Von der Tann's arrangement echoed USS Texas with added end turrets, but its apparent six-gun coverage came with these practical restrictions. Paper firing arcs could therefore overstate a ship's safe, usable combat firepower.