Vickers 12in/35 cal. Mk. VIII Turret - 1899
30.5 cm Guns As Installed in Canopus Class Battleships HMS Albion and HMS Glory
Albion built at Thames Iron Works, Blackwall; Glory at Cammell Laird, Birkenhead

A direct lift was provided from magazine to gunhouse via a single ammo hoist. Shells and charges had separate hoists. In late pre-dreadnoughts, a special handling room was introduced in which shells adn powder were switched to a separate lift for the final trip to the gunhouse. Flash-proof doors and scuttles were introduced to prevent sparks or open flame from jumping down the turret trunk and igniting the magazines. In WWI this protection, as applied in everyday operation, was proved to be inadequate in British warships; the results, as seen at the Battle of Jutland, were devastating.

Scene inside the 12"/35 cal. Mark VIII turret of HMS Prince George, Majestic class battleship.