The fleet-unit idea promised local capability and an imperial reserve, but the ships were only part of its price. The Admiralty argued that a Dominion navy needed about 2,000 people and a complete career structure if it was to recruit and retain capable officers and ratings. Its proposed unit combined a battlecruiser, three light cruisers, six destroyers, and three submarines, supported by exchanges with the Royal Navy. Four such units were intended to cover the Pacific from Vancouver, Sydney, Hong Kong, and Singapore while buying time for reinforcements from Europe. A unit cost millions to build and hundreds of thousands of pounds each year to operate, making personnel, bases, training, and recurring expenditure central to the political decision.
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The Dominion fleet-unit concept and its costs
A historical proposal packages a cruiser, smaller vessels, personnel, training, and bases into a Dominion naval force that could support imperial strategy.