a view from above of the forward guns on a french destroyer
note the semi-circular gutter with shells and charges around the gun, this allowed for faster and easier loading regardless of the turrets orientation
the gutters ran from the enclosed hoist rooms and could also serve as sort of ready rack
on later classes the gutters would completely surround the guns, in some cases they would be (partially) disassembled and only put back into place when action was imminent