I am amazed at the complexity in the development of naval gun shells of the last few hundred years. Once ships started becoming armored, shells with timed fuzes needed to be used to penetrate and then detonate inside the armor. This was dangerous, as, during some civil war battles, the union had more casualties to their own shells prematurely detonating inside their own guns than casualties from enemy fire.
Secondly, there is the issue of shells simply bouncing off or breaking upon the impact of enemy armor. This was partially solved by adding a cap (APC rounds). This cap would absorb the initial shock of impact and weaken the enemy armor before the shell itself would come into contact with the armor. This was effective, but only at shallow angles.
I had known that the British had trouble with their shells at the battle of Jutland, but I didn't realize the complexity of the issue of these shells. The Germans, on the other hand, had a more accurate fire and their shells did far more damage per hit (detonating and completely destroying several British ships almost immediately (HMS Invincible, HMS Queen Mary and HMS Indefatigable). The British won in the end by crossing the T with an unbelievably large fleet, and some impressive maneuvering, all aim at the lead ships of the German navy. This forced the Germans to come about and go home for the rest of the war.
Here is a link to a great video on the development chain of shells:
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