Damage-control instructions called for counterflooding only as much as the situation required. They did not prohibit deliberately admitting water to correct a dangerous list. The caution answered cases in which excessive flooding created new stability, electrical, or free-water problems. Bringing an 11-degree heel down to one or two degrees could therefore be a successful correction even if the ship was not perfectly level. Doctrine balanced restoring stability against the secondary damage caused by the remedy itself.
Notable Point · 1:00-3:19
Counterflooding instructions and damage-control judgment
Why an order not to admit water unnecessarily called for measured counterflooding rather than banning it.