The Royal Naval Reserve drew on merchant sailors and former regular naval personnel, groups whose careers often overlapped. Officers who had left the Navy could spend years handling merchant vessels before being recalled in wartime. For an armed merchant cruiser, that experience offered direct knowledge of how to get the best from a merchant ship. It also allowed currently serving officers to concentrate on new carriers, cruisers, and destroyers. Escorts working alongside merchant traffic benefited from officers accustomed to ships with similar operating characteristics and requirements.
Notable Point · 45:14-47:30
Merchant-service experience suited auxiliary warship command
Former naval officers who entered merchant service could return with experience especially suited to armed merchant cruisers and convoy work.