How did the Royal Navy prevent phantom crewmen from appearing on ship accounts?
Short answerAdministrative checks and skeptical admirals could expose crew claims that did not match a ship's actual damage or losses.
NotesPhantom crews remained a way for some captains to supplement their income, but administrative scrutiny made the fraud discoverable. Muster records created a paper trail for the names and pay claimed aboard ship. An admiral could also compare a captain's reported losses with the visible damage after an action. A claim for heavy casualties became difficult to defend when no shot had struck the vessel.