To be honest, the damage these warships had suffered did not greatly affect their combat capability, but it could not simply be left unattended indefinitely.
For example, if a section of the side deck was broken, that part of the hull could no longer bear stress.
When a wooden warship turned or met the waves head-on, its hull would deform slightly, and the structure around the breach would endure enormous structural stress. The hull structure near the damaged area would rapidly deteriorate and become unusable.
It was like tearing plastic packaging. If the wrapping was intact, no matter how hard one pulled, it would not tear. But if a small slit was cut along the edge, it could easily be torn open from there.
Thus, although these warships appeared to have suffered only minor damage, they had to return to port for repairs. Otherwise, what had begun as small problems could turn into massive projects requiring half the hull to be replaced.
Lord Hood could not help recalling the Mediterranean Fleet's losses during this operation—
One Third-rate Battleship and one Fourth-rate Battleship had been heavily damaged.
One Cruiser and three Frigates had been sunk.
"Heavily damaged" was a technical naval term. It meant that aside from still floating on the water, the ship was no different from scrap. Normally, it would have to return to port for at least four months before emergency repairs could be completed.
That level of loss was hardly worth mentioning, but the more serious problem was that eighteen Third-rate Battleships, twenty Fourth-rate Battleships, and nearly all the Cruisers and Frigates had sustained minor damage.
With so many warships requiring repairs flooding into Gibraltar Port at once, there would certainly be a severe shortage of docks and shipwrights.
The entire repair process would last at least