Q&A · 2:04:06-2:04:52

Why the Royal Navy would not retain High Seas Fleet ships

Captured enemy ships can be a liability when their machinery, maintenance practices, and supply system add a separate logistical burden to an already large fleet.

Question

What would you keep from the German High Seas Fleet after the First World War?

Short answer

For the Royal Navy, nothing: German machinery and maintenance systems would create a costly logistical problem while British ships already covered the needed roles.

Notes

Keeping German High Seas Fleet ships would burden the Royal Navy even where individual vessels were attractive. German turbines, operating pressures, maintenance practice, and spares would impose a parallel support system on a fleet that already possessed suitable British types. The same captured ships might make more sense for France or Italy, whose smaller battle fleets could gain more from the additional hulls. For Britain, standardisation and supportability outweighed the appeal of adding unfamiliar warships.