Beatty's strengths fit subordinate command better than flag rank

What were David Beatty's wins?

He had real strengths in budget politics and aggressive subordinate command, but those did not translate into sound high-level naval aviation policy.

David Beatty receives credit for obtaining a better interwar naval budget than the Treasury wanted and getting County-class cruisers built. His Nile gunboat campaign and Boxer Rebellion service illustrate effective aggressive command under someone else's strategic direction. A Mediterranean appointment might also have made better use of his diplomatic and social skills in coordinating allies. The panel imagines him pursuing Goeben promptly once the French said they did not need British battlecruisers guarding their troop transports. The criticism is that these strengths did not make him equally suited to senior fleet command. His acceptance of RAF control of the Fleet Air Arm receives a separate criticism for trusting his own political influence to protect naval aviation requirements.