How did the Royal Navy get aggressive destroyer captains to tone it down in cruiser and battleship commands?
Short answerAge, staff structure, and role expectations mattered; cruiser captains were expected to be more judicious, though some cruiser jobs still wanted aggressive officers.
NotesDestroyer command rewarded applied aggression, while cruiser command came with different staff support and a more judicious operating culture. The comparison also distinguishes between cruiser jobs: distant-station cruising roles were not the same as fleet cruisers expected to keep up with destroyers and give them fast support.