A specialist repair ship concentrated the carpentry and metal workshops found aboard a large warship such as HMS Belfast across much more of its hull. Destroyers and other small ships lacked this capacity, while cruisers, battleships, and carriers could do more maintenance themselves. Cold War fleets operating near British yards could also fall back on existing industrial facilities instead of paying to duplicate them afloat. A dedicated support hull made the strongest case when smaller units operated far from bases with enough repair work to justify its cost.
Notable Point · 1:10:01-1:14:47
HMS Resource and the cost of specialization
HMS Resource and USS Medusa were valuable but expensive answers to a question larger warships partly solved with their own workshops.