Ships in ordinary absorb refit delays

The Type 45 hypothetical keeps additional hulls in ordinary with small care-and-maintenance crews. When an active destroyer entered a major refit, its crew could transfer to a ready reserve hull and preserve the number of ships available for operations. Wartime activation would combine personnel with prior Type 45 experience, the caretaker crew, and reservists, while some shore billets could be backfilled. The arrangement would also provide a replacement when damage or an unexpectedly long refit removed an active ship. Reserve hulls therefore create options and higher operational tempo without requiring every destroyer to carry a full peacetime crew.