Hi, I very often see them referenced and discussed, but I have very little idea of how they operate . so, maybe ww1 British DC crews or Ww2 Japanese DC crews... For example;
Different crews for different ships?(could a carrier DC member work on a battleship?) Accessibility of supplies, and efficacy after catastrophic damage: how on earth do they seemingly replace vital parts of the ship within a few hours? Survival rate for the crews on ships that sank or took heavy damage How did they work efficiently on the ship before portable radio -these are just a few talking points , honestly I'm really interested about everything 20th century navy, so please just go on a tear if you know anything about it, thanks!
You can read a good bit on the US Navy's History website linked here which actually has damage/war reports
Regarding more modern principles of damage control with the Navy today - DCs (and to a certain extent, most crewmembers) learn the basics of damage control, and become more specialized as they get nearer to assignment to the ship in question.
Training and drills specific to the ship will then be emphasized as well - a person serving on a carrier, for instance, will have a lot of different priorities/scenarios than someone serving on a cruiser, which doesn't have all the aviation fuel, bombs, and aircraft sitting on its deck or in the hangar deck below.
Regarding parts - not only are spare parts available, but DC's are trained to improvise to tear down parts from other places, make spot patches, etc.
Finally, working effectively again is a matter of training. Training to operate without portable radios is a thing today, and that's also why when general quarters is sounded, you have a spot on the ship you are assigned to: because you are then responsible for certain parts of the ship that will inevitably overlap with other people's areas of responsibilities as well in the event of damage or other battle conditions.
For parts, you really dont need too many things to just keep the ship afloat.
You need a certain number of compartments to be airtight based on the size of the ship. And thats about it.
Beyond that the goal is for the ship to not be on fire, and for flooding to be contained, and ideally for the ship to be able to maneuver under her own power. If the ship can still fight all the better.
That is why naval ships have multiples of everything. For instance the USS Nevada, the only battleship that got underway at Pearl Harbor, was able to get up to speed and maneuver with just 2 of her 6 boilers lit. They didnt need to replace the unlit and damaged ones, the ship was built to operate if need be on just one(which it normally did while in port a 2nd was lit so that the old one could be shut off).
And you really dont even need to pump out flooded areas if you dont have the time or ability. What is key is to stop it from getting worse, and to keep the ship level, in particular if its a carrier that needs to launch and land planes. So you do what is known as "counter flooding" All ships have larger bilges and void spaces along the sides, either unused former coal bunkers, empty fuel bunkers, or intentionally left void to defeat enemy shells or torpedoes. You flood the opposite side from the damage to keep the ship level. The USS Yorktown for instance at Midway was returned to only about 12 degrees of list from a max of 26 degree list! Crews threw topside weight over the side including leftover aircraft, and even 5in guns! She was taken in tow, and had a destroyer alongside providing water and power, and might even have survived if a Japanese sub hadnt found her and sent 2 more torpedoes into her on top of the 2 others the previous day and 3 bombs.