The guns could initially be depressed to −3° and elevated to +13.5°, although the turrets were modified to allow 16° of elevation during the First World War. They fired projectiles at a muzzle velocity of ; at 13.5°, this provided a maximum range of with armour-piercing (AP) 2 crh shells. At 16° elevation, the range was extended to using the more aerodynamic, but slightly heavier, 4 crh AP shells. The rate of fire of these guns was one to two rounds per minute. The ships carried 80 rounds per gun.