Q&A: Why large-scale replenishment at sea lapsed

Why did the Royal Navy let large-scale replenishment at sea fall out of use after developing it under Hawke?

Because the navy lacked a comparable sustained-blockade requirement after the Napoleonic Wars, so it did not keep an expensive mass capability practiced without an operational need.

Large-scale replenishment depended on continuing operational demand. After the Napoleonic Wars, the Royal Navy did not face a comparable requirement to keep a large blockade fleet continuously supplied at sea before the world wars. Supply ships still moved stores between bases, but servicing a major combat fleet offshore for months required a different scale of practice. Without a mission that justified the cost and training, that capability declined and later had to be developed again.