Complex sentence: On 12 October, "Royal Oak" returned to the defences of Scapa Flow in poor shape, battered by North Atlantic storms: many of her Carley floats had been smashed and several of the smaller-calibre guns rendered inoperable through flooding.
Split into simpler sentences: On 12 October, "Royal Oak" returned to the defences of Scapa Flow in poor shape, battered by North Atlantic storms. Many of her Carley floats had been smashed and several of the smaller-calibre guns rendered inoperable through flooding.