How destroyer service built trust and wartime command skill

Sherbrooke had to maintain a mental picture of the escort while maneuvering Onslow and issuing orders to other ships. Every change required allowance for mistakes by his own formation and for the enemy's movements. Repeated attacks through smoke also depended on a crew willing to follow him, drawing on respect and trust established before the battle. Burnett brought experience from destroyer commands and flotilla leadership to his later cruiser command. Their careers challenge the idea that a battleship establishment alone supplied the Royal Navy's wartime leaders. Early independent command helped destroyer officers develop the coordination and aggression needed in battle, while cruiser officers' experience of diplomacy on foreign stations suited different responsibilities.