Admiral Tom Phillips brought an experienced staff aboard HMS Prince of Wales when Force Z deployed east. A flagship needed bridges, offices, communications facilities, and accommodation for a large headquarters, spaces that would be wasteful aboard every ordinary private ship. A newer or more powerful warship was therefore not automatically the best command platform. HMS Tiger could outperform HMS Lion in some respects, yet Beatty remained in Lion because Tiger's internal spaces were not configured for his flag staff. Headquarters work required physical infrastructure as surely as gunnery or propulsion did.
Notable Point · 30:09-32:23
Why flagship accommodation was an operational capability
Prince of Wales, Lion, and Tiger show how staff offices and communications spaces could determine which ship was able to command a fleet.