Basil Jones and the wartime destroyer command track

Jones commanded Ivanhoe, Isis, Pakenham, another spell in Isis, and Tartar before the Battle of Ushant brought his tactical skill into focus. He was an inventive small-force commander who came alive when wartime operations offered concrete problems to solve. His dislike of paperwork and avoidance of staff appointments help explain why that operational talent did not produce a faster rise above captain. Jones excelled at sea without fitting the staff path increasingly required for promotion after the war.