Haulbowline illustrates repair infrastructure in depth: ships could receive quick work near the fighting area, then move to a safer base for longer repairs. A large paper fleet shrinks when damaged hulls accumulate beside yards that cannot return them to service. Those vessels become effective mission losses even if they remain on the navy list. Dockyards and maintenance capacity determine how many ships a navy can keep operating at sea.
Notable Point · 31:05-32:31
Maintenance capacity keeps a fleet effective
A large fleet without enough repair capacity accumulates damaged ships and loses operational strength even when its order of battle looks impressive.