[blueunicorn6]

I wonder who the guy was that first thought,

“Instead of shooting straight across at another ship, let’s drop shells down on top of them so they can penetrate and go deep.”

[Wizdum]

I believe that would be the British with the Dreadnought. Up until then most of the gunnery was flat shooting at each other. Dreadnought introduced the all big gun arching trajectory type of fire.

Looking past the increasing armor belt to fend off direct shots, Dreadnought would use plunging fire to strike the thin steel decks of the opposition.