Am pretty sure by WW1 ships had all kind of services piercing the watertight bulkheads, such as electric cables, etc, as they do today. Just that they had valves either side and cables went through watertight junction box's etc. But there is a report of a German light cruiser which was abandoned and left on fire, during the night she was seen glowing red while adrift. Plus a German capital ship was torpedoed at night and completely erupted and took virtually her entire crew. But as my father said and he served in the last war, " Son, you would sailing along with all your mates in a nice clean mess and the action stations alarm goes off. My station was damage control(he was a C.P.O. ERA1) , you take a hit, you open the door and what was a nice clean mess, is now black and hanging from the twisted metal overhead is filth which is all that is left of your mates. I had asked him what is it like to be at war, needless to say, he never usually say much except for humorous events. He had three ships in that war, Norfolk from 1939, Woodcock from new1943, then Redpole about 1945/6 far east. So we who live now, only have books to read about it but those who really know did not speak of it and are now all gone. So I say God Bless Them All.