Exeter's crew workup and changing gunnery performance

A question about HMS Exeter's later performance is answered through crew continuity: the experienced River Plate team dispersed, while a newly assembled crew entered combat before reaching the same level of workup.

Question

Why did HMS Exeter's gunnery performance decline after the Battle of the River Plate despite repair, radar, and battery improvements?

Short answer

The experienced River Plate crew had been dispersed, and the replacement crew entered combat before it had developed the same collective proficiency.

Notes

HMS Exeter moved from effective gunnery at the Battle of the River Plate to a much poorer outcome after repair and modernization because the human organization operating the ship had changed. Exeter's experienced crew dispersed to other assignments after the earlier victory and major repair period. A replacement crew was still developing collective proficiency when it entered a new war zone. Radar, repaired batteries, and other equipment could not reproduce combat effectiveness without a worked-up crew that had learned to use the whole ship as a system.