Fisher routes Bacon through Dreadnought and naval ordnance

John Fisher chose Bacon as an assistant in 1904 and called him the cleverest officer in the navy. Because Bacon had been picked to become HMS Dreadnought's first captain without enough battleship service, the Admiralty first placed him in command of HMS Irresistible for roughly six months. The move satisfied formal experience requirements around a favoured technical officer. Bacon later succeeded John Jellicoe as Director of Naval Ordnance and Torpedoes, received promotion to rear admiral, and left active service to manage Coventry Ordnance Works. The industrial appointment extended his experience from fleet technology into weapons production.