Why claims of one hundred Royal Navy wrecks need checking

Did the Royal Navy lose more than one hundred ships to wrecks in 1805?

Probably not. Some lists count East Indiamen, merchant convoy vessels, and other ships operating near the navy as Royal Navy losses.

The claim that the Royal Navy lost more than one hundred ships to wrecks in 1805 is disputed here. Some totals include East Indiamen and chartered merchant vessels supplying the navy, even though they remained merchant ships with merchant crews. Fleet growth provides another reason to question such figures: losses at that level would have been difficult to replace, especially if repeated annually. Among naval vessels, smaller craft operating close inshore were particularly exposed to wrecking. The total therefore depends on which ships a list counts as part of the Royal Navy.