Axe crew found half-cut in warship (5)
I believe the answer is:
scrub
'axe crew' is the definition.
'scrub' can be an answer for 'axe' (I've seen this before). I'm not certain of the 'crew' bit.
'half-cut in warship' is the wordplay.
'half-cut' becomes 'cr' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should believe this answer much more).
'in' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'warship' becomes 'sub' (sub is a kind of warship).
'cr' put inside 'sub' is 'SCRUB'.
'found' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for scrub that I've seen before include "Stunted growth" , "Rough country area" , "Wipe out" , "Abandon" , "Eliminate" .)