Fleet exercises tested Somerville's communications system

The Royal Navy's late-1920s exercises brought much of the Home and Mediterranean fleets together for demanding mock wars south of Italy, testing doctrine while also displaying British naval strength. Because the Mediterranean commander-in-chief often served as chief umpire, the deputy commander and his flag captain could direct the Mediterranean side of the exercise. Somerville was therefore placed at the center of fleet-scale trials of his night-command systems and accumulated First World War lessons. The posting also broadened his leadership beyond a technical signals team as he began selecting and developing officers across the ship's organization. Warspite suffered a collision while he was her captain, so this period of professional development was not spotless.