Beatty and Fleet Air Arm control

What did Beatty do wrong as First Sea Lord?

Beatty's carrier-aviation decisions were especially damaging, including RAF control over key Fleet Air Arm structures and carrier-conversion choices that limited future naval aviation options.

Beatty's First Sea Lord record is damaged by the Washington Naval Treaty context, the handling of carrier aviation, and the decision framework around Eagle, Courageous, Glorious, and possible Admiral-class conversions. The Royal Navy paid for and crewed much of the Fleet Air Arm while RAF structures still shaped procurement, flying training, numbers, and ranks. Beatty's political talent was not matched by a willingness to build a Sea Lords team that would challenge him, leaving him without a forceful technical counterweight such as Reginald Henderson. The answer therefore connects interwar naval-aviation outcomes to both institutional division and senior leadership culture.