Some years ago someone here in the Org made a reference to a documentary about the defeat of the Spanish Armada. According to the records very few English ships were 'hulled' or penetrated by Spanish cannonballs that found their mark. After examining some cannonballs which were dredged up from the Channel's bottom it was shown that Spanish shot was of much poorer quality than the shot used by the English. Can anyone here provide more information on this aspect of the conflict?

The shot quality issue reminds me of the problem facing America's navies in the war of 1812 where shot of varying quality lowered the overall efficiency of the US Navy's gun crews. This drew a stark contrast to the quality of American guns which were actually quite good, especially the 24lb 'Long Guns' made famous by our Constellation class frigates.