Probably owing to war commitments the block trail carriage was not actually introduced until 1793. Not only was it lighter than the double plate but it was more easily maneuverable and enabled the team with gun limbered up to make a much tighter turning circle. It was a first for the Royal Artillery and Britain, and was subsequently adopted by all European nations and the United States. The wooden block-trail carriage survived until the introduction of iron carriages around 1870. Its chief disadvantage as seen by modern Gunners was that it limited elevation of the piece to about 15°. This did not matter much up to late 19^th century times because tactics plus elementary sighting equipment kept fighting ranges short. But strange as it may seem this obvious disadvantage was repeated with the QF 13- and 18-pr guns adopted in 1903 with their pole-type trails. The pole-type trail was of course analogous with the block-type, except that it was made of steel tubing instead of wood. With the resulting limitation in range both equipments were found wanting during World War 1.