I remember hearing this as well. I think the idea behind it was to have the minimum of qualified ratings onboard and then fill the rest of the number with persons who could be used in multiple roles. Sort of like the recent thread on the U.S. Navy’s new crewing of the LCS vessels. A permanent riding gang if you will.
As I understood it, for example, there would be one AB at a mooring station and three or four “helpers” who could be directed to handle lines instead of AB’s. I don’t know how well it worked or works but it was all about cost cutting so in that regard I’d imagine it worked well. I do not know if there was any finagling with the officer’s billets.