ɐ mˈeɪdʒɚ pɹˈɑːbləm wɪððə ɡˈʌnz ɔnðə mˈeɪn dˈɛk wʌz ðæt ðeɪ wɜː mˈaʊntᵻd lˈoʊ ɪnðə ʃˈɪp—ˈoʊnli ɐbˌaʊt əbˌʌv wˈɔːɾɚɹ æt dˈiːp lˈoʊd—ænd wɜːɹ ʌnjˈuːzəbəl æt hˈaɪ spˈiːd ɔːɹ ɪn hˈɛvi wˈɛðɚɹ æz ðeɪ dˈɪpt ðɛɹ mˈʌzəlz ɪnðə sˈiː wɛn ɹˈoʊlɪŋ mˈoːɹ ðɐn fˈoːɹtiːn dᵻɡɹˈiːz.
A major problem with the guns on the main deck was that they were mounted low in the ship—only about  above water at deep load—and were unusable at high speed or in heavy weather as they dipped their muzzles in the sea when rolling more than 14°.