Ark Royal's personnel turnover weakened knowledge of the ship

Ark Royal combined almost continuous wartime service with a role supplying trained personnel to the expanding carrier force. Temporary concrete repairs and unreliable watertight doors made detailed knowledge of her condition particularly important. Yet the training role produced relatively high turnover among personnel whose effectiveness depended on learning the ship thoroughly. Damage-control teams needed to know previous damage, weak points, and compromises in the original design. That knowledge took time to develop and had to exist throughout the damage-control and executive chains of command.