Officers who later sailed to the Falklands had already been trained to expect exceptionally high losses in a Norway operation. Amphibious ships were to reinforce northern Norway even if Soviet attacks had wrecked normal port facilities, which made landing docks useful for what otherwise resembled an administrative movement. Planners expected the ships to unload in one night because conventional air attack or nuclear weapons could destroy them after daylight revealed their position. HMS Ocean's commercial-style construction followed this one-trip concept rather than a requirement for a durable campaign asset.
Notable Point · 1:03:05-1:05:32
Norway plans that assumed the ships would not return
Cold War reinforcement plans for Norway assumed amphibious shipping could have less than a day to unload before Soviet conventional or nuclear attack destroyed it.