Royal Navy reconstruction could send one kind of ship into dock and produce something substantially different. That Ship of Theseus approach can preserve a hull, workforce, and legal identity while replacing much of the equipment that made the old design obsolete. Selected cruisers might have been rebuilt almost as new ships and used as seaplane tenders. A major role change can preserve useful capacity when the structure and machinery still justify the work, although many worn hulls would remain poor candidates.
Notable Point · 44:22-45:11
A rebuild can preserve capacity by changing a ship's role
Royal Navy reconstruction practice suggests that an older cruiser could survive by emerging as an almost new seaplane tender rather than remaining frozen in its original role.