Clarke proposes keeping simpler frigates in reserve with funded crews, training, and maintenance. In his account of wartime expansion, regular forces buy the opening period and reservists sustain the next phase. Both then provide experienced cadres for the much larger force that mobilisation creates. Secondary-theatre presence and some convoy duties offer roles for ships that no longer belong in the main battle fleet. Mercogliano relates the need for depth to German and Japanese expectations of short wars, before discussing older frigates and destroyers as possible reserve assets.
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Reserve fleets bridge the gap between regular forces and wartime expansion
Ships and trained reservists provide the depth needed when a supposedly short war becomes a contest of production and endurance.