Britain's large pool of East Indiamen offered another reserve after the principal fleets had fought themselves down. Converted merchant ships were poor substitutes for purpose-built ships of the line under normal conditions. In the episode's attritional counterfactual, however, even a fourth-rate-quality combatant could matter once most first-line warships had been destroyed or disabled. The chess comparison captures the reversal: formerly second-rate assets could become the strongest pieces left in the local fight. Commercial maritime capacity could therefore reinforce naval resilience after catastrophic battle losses.
Notable Point · 16:00-16:22
Converted East Indiamen after battlefleet attrition
Converted merchantmen become more useful once repeated battles have removed most purpose-built ships of the line from the Channel.