Although he was a Fleet Commander, Bai Zhizhan had always believed that the combat power of the Navy depended not only on the majestic battleships but also on numerous auxiliary ships.
One of the more famous ones was the fleet oiler, which later became the Fast Combat Support Ship.
Among the many auxiliary ships, the role of a self-propelled floating dock absolutely could not be underestimated, even ranking ahead of other engineering vessels.
The reason was quite simple.
A self-propelled floating dock could serve several, or even dozens of battleships, thereby significantly improving the operational availability of the ships.
Floating docks could be used not only to repair damaged battleships but also to provide other services.
For instance, they could perform maintenance on battleships at the front line, especially in areas far from the homeland and severely lacking in supporting facilities in the depths of the ocean.
