How can war consume an entire ship's fatigue life in about five years?
Short answerConstant use, skipped maintenance, sea damage, firing stress, and battle damage accumulate until the ship requires a major and potentially uneconomic refit.
NotesA ship may remain operational while accumulating work that can only be corrected in a major refit. Wartime schedules defer maintenance while heavy seas, repeated gunfire, and enemy damage add new stresses. The vessel can therefore consume decades of fatigue allowance in only a few years of intense service. Postwar disposal becomes an economic decision about whether restoring the hull and machinery is worth more than replacing or retiring the ship.