Ernle Chatfield valued battleships and gunnery, and his influence helped shape the 14-inch guns of the King George V class. He also served as Fourth, Third, and First Sea Lord while carrier construction and other programmes continued. His preferences reveal an important strand within the service rather than a complete description of Royal Navy policy. His specialisation and individual choices need to be read alongside the work of the institution around him.
Notable Point · 32:41-35:10
Chatfield and the limits of the battleship-admiral label
Chatfield's battleship preferences mattered, yet his career and the programmes around him cannot stand for every Royal Navy officer or policy.