A chemical-weapon hit would not necessarily lose a battleship

Would a serious chemical-weapon strike make a battleship irreparable?

Not necessarily: the outcome would depend on the agent, the hit location, and penetration, while washing and damage control could still permit recovery.

A direct chemical strike posed a different problem from a diffuse gas cloud. Whether a ship could recover depended on how many weapons hit, where contamination landed, and whether it reached enclosed internal spaces. Seawater was already used in firefighting and could dilute or carry away many contaminants. A severe hit therefore did not automatically make the ship irreparable.