Walker joined the Atlantic Fleet's 1st Destroyer Flotilla under Andrew Cunningham, who at times commanded from her directly. The flotilla exercised the A-to-K scouting line ahead of the fleet and tested how destroyers handled the weather and demands of that forward role. Experience gathered by ships such as Walker later informed the requirements for the 1936 Tribal class. These exercises also contributed to Cunningham's development from a proven destroyer commander into an influential theorist of destroyer employment.
Notable Point · 21:02-24:05
Cunningham, the A-to-K line, and interwar destroyer doctrine
Cunningham's First Destroyer Flotilla tested the forward scouting role that later influenced Tribal-class requirements.