Carrier damage-control training treated a list after a hit as a condition requiring prompt counter-flooding. One recalled training poster made carriers the fleet's exception for using counter-flooding first, although how widely that poster was used is uncertain. The proposed response aboard Ark Royal was to reduce speed and counter-flood on the port side to stabilize the ship before water spread further. Personnel moving toward the upper decks also needed to close doors and check seals behind them. An orderly evacuation could protect the crew while preserving the compartment boundaries needed to control flooding.
Notable Point · 1:16:15-1:18:00
Counter-flooding and watertight evacuation aboard Ark Royal
The proposed response combined prompt counter-flooding with an evacuation that preserved watertight closures as personnel moved upward.