In this assessment, Beatty's strong record as a ship captain did not carry over to his performance after promotion. His First Sea Lord record fares poorly from the perspective of naval aviation, including the preference for Courageous, Glorious, and Furious over Admiral-class hulls for carrier conversion and the transfer of Fleet Air Arm control to the Royal Air Force. Beatty did defend the Navy against some of the harshest Geddes Axe reductions, so the judgment is mixed. The broader institutional problem is that officers trained throughout their careers to command a ship could become admirals without comparable preparation for directing a fleet. Even service as a flag captain still centered on running one vessel, leaving a real gap between success at one level of command and competence at the next.
Notable Point · 41:16-43:43
Why a good captain could make a poor admiral
David Beatty's contrasting record as captain and admiral raises a problem of promotion: success in commanding one ship did not establish readiness to direct a fleet.