The dock limits facing HMS Incomparable in 1914 were temporary because the Royal Navy had already discussed expansion with Cammell Laird and other yards. Dependence on a single graving dock gives an opponent or an accident a single point of failure. The Queen Elizabeth-class carrier programme offers a modern parallel because the planned new Portsmouth dock was not completed. Commercial alternatives may exist, but their existing workloads, security, and naval support arrangements vary, so nominal capacity does not guarantee wartime availability.
Notable Point · 14:21-15:58
One suitable dock becomes a strategic vulnerability
The Incomparable and Queen Elizabeth-class examples show why a navy should not depend on one secure dock for its largest ships.