After departing Portland in September 1948, the fleet divided between carriers bound for South Africa and a battleship and cruiser group visiting the West Indies. Duke of York's itinerary included Barbados, Tobago, Antigua, Jamaica, Norfolk in Virginia, and Bermuda before the fleet returned to home ports in December. The reading describes this as the last British battleship visit to the western Atlantic. The active fleet still faced acute manpower shortages. A proposal to send 145 men directly from Duke of York to Implacable on their return drew strong opposition from the commander-in-chief because it would cost them their Christmas leave.
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Duke of York's final western Atlantic cruise and a disputed crew transfer
A long Atlantic deployment ended with a manpower proposal that would have denied 145 sailors their Christmas leave.