There was no permanent unified fleet to vanish: William had assembled a temporary mixture of borrowed, hired, and newly built craft. Damaged hulls and other vessels were broken up to supplement the prefabricated timber carried for secure temporary fortifications. Merchant and fishing craft could return to their former work, while other ships supported the longer pacification and logistics campaign inside England. Second World War landing craft that remained useful long after their campaigns, sometimes with replacement engines but much of the original hull intact, provide a modern parallel. The Mora remained a carefully maintained royal vessel for a time, but even status ships eventually wore out. The fleet disappeared through dispersal, reuse, decay, and recycling rather than through one recorded act of disbandment.
Chapter · 33:17-35:42
Why William's invasion fleet disappeared
After landing, ships became fortification timber, returned to trade and fishing, supported further operations, decayed, or survived briefly as prestige vessels.