Boiler rooms and turbine compartments require large spaces that cannot be subdivided as closely as much of a warship's hull. A torpedo hit beside one of those spaces can therefore admit a large volume of water quickly. Electric drive gives designers more freedom to position the engines because their location is no longer dictated by a direct propeller-shaft connection. Gas turbines or diesel engines generating electricity can sit higher in the hull with protection around them, reducing the chance that an underwater hit will remove the ship's power supply.
Notable Point · 3:14:30-3:15:40
Electric drive gives designers more freedom to protect machinery
Indomitable's flooded machinery space introduces an engineering advantage of electric drive: engines can be positioned and protected with greater freedom.