Nelles joined HMS Dragon as executive officer in 1930 and assumed temporary command when Captain L. H. Bevan died during the deployment. The Admiralty confirmed him as acting captain for the rest of the cruise. He became the first Royal Canadian Navy officer to command a Royal Navy vessel, and Dragon was a capable, recently refitted light cruiser. Favorable British reports and his seniority among Canadian officers helped Commodore Walter Hose recommend him as a future chief of the naval staff.
Chapter · 21:21-23:05
The first RCN officer to command a Royal Navy warship
A captain's death placed Nelles in temporary command of the recently refitted light cruiser HMS Dragon, proving his readiness for higher responsibility.