Size!

This is coolbert:

Size matters!

Again, from the book "Dreadnought" by Massie, some particulars and considerations regarding the all-big gun configuration of the HMS Dreadnought as advocated by Admiral "Jacky" Fisher:

"Some of the reasons for uniform big-gun armament were obvious. Uniform big-gun armament meant that a ship would have to stock only a single caliber of ammunition . . . There was a more important reason . . . accurate fire control. An enemy ship moving fast ten thousand yards away is a difficult target to hit . . . the problem was a little easier if one used salvo firing - - firing a number of similar -caliber shells simultaneously at the target. If the splashes of the shells striking the water are behind the target, the guns should be lowered slightly; if in front, they should be raised; if before the target, they should be trained back a a bit; if behind, they should be trained forward. This salvo firing continues until finally the huge columns of water straddle the target . . . It was impossible to use guns of different caliber for this purpose; different-size shells would have to be fired at different angles of gun-barrel elevation, at different velocities, and on different trajectories . . . [and] no one could tell which splash was a product of which gun."

A problem much exacerbated during combat. Multiple ships firing at multiple targets with multiple calibers of guns and having to try and observe multiple and more or less simultaneous splashes [geysers of water] from each shell, created a chaotic and impossible situation for the gunnery officer and fire control command.

Different! Different! Different!

Chaos!!

coolbert.