Dalrymple-Hamilton remained a lieutenant through his wartime destroyer commands and reached lieutenant commander in August 1919, on his ninth command and seventh ship. Before promotion to commander in 1924, he had accumulated ten commands across eight destroyers. Those appointments gave promotion boards evidence of how he acted when responsibility rested directly on him. Officers working only within larger command systems had fewer opportunities to demonstrate independent judgment. Cunningham's destroyer experience, Somerville's communications work, and King's carrier experience also complicate the description of wartime naval leaders as simply battleship admirals. Small ships offered early opportunities to prove command ability that are less common in modern fleets.
Notable Point · 42:07-53:43
Why destroyer officers became wartime admirals
Repeated small-ship commands produced independently tested officers and challenge the idea that the Second World War's navies were led mainly by battleship admirals.