Since the turrets were intended for coastal fortifications the turret insides were coated with asbestos-cork mixture to prevent moisture from condensing into gun position. Messaging, electric and ventilation systems were left mostly intact. A fully automatic loading system would have taken too much space, and simple counterweight operated shell hoisting mechanism was developed to transfer ammunition up to the turret.
Since the turrets were designed for coastal fortifications, the turret interiors were coated with an asbestos-cork mixture to prevent moisture from accumulating in the gun position. The messaging, electric, and ventilation systems remained largely intact. A fully automatic loading system would have occupied too much space, so a simple counterweight-operated shell hoisting mechanism was developed to transfer ammunition up to the turret.