Q&A · 2:29:20-2:29:39

How an interwar warship divided its year

The simple thirds estimate understates training because sea periods combined movement and exercises rather than forming a wholly separate activity.

Question

How was a warship's year divided among sea time, port time, maintenance, and training during the 1920s and 1930s?

Short answer

A rough one-third split is a useful guide, with ships also conducting training whenever they were at sea.

Notes

One third, one third, and one third is a broad planning approximation. The categories should not be read as sealed blocks. Time at sea routinely included training, so exercises overlapped with the ship's operational movements. Readiness depended on how the navy used each period as well as the nominal number of days assigned to it.