A ship placed in reserve should be complete enough to activate quickly rather than waiting months for construction to finish. Six ships could be maintained by small engineering parties and a flotilla staff totaling about 140 permanent personnel, far fewer than six full crews. Mobilization could combine reservists with active sailors released from shore posts and recently discharged personnel recalled to the flag. The decisive requirement is an established, repeatedly practiced plan that assigns people to ships and backfills the jobs they leave behind.
Chapter · 17:40-20:20
How nucleus crews make a reserve flotilla mobilizable
A small permanent engineering cadre can preserve several complete ships while reservists, shore personnel, and recently discharged sailors supply wartime crews.