Cunningham and Fraser blurred commander-in-chief and fleet command

Did the Royal Navy commission an old sailing ship as a mobile Second World War headquarters as the United States did with Constellation?

No comparable expedient was needed. British commanders such as Cunningham and Fraser went to sea in operational flagships, although Fraser's work with the British Pacific Fleet often resembled task-force command more than a conventional shore-based commander-in-chief role.

HMS Victory remained commissioned in a ceremonial and administrative sense, but Britain did not use her as a mobile wartime command solution. Cunningham reinforced the expectation that senior naval command could be exercised at sea. Fraser likewise wanted to remain with the British Pacific Fleet's operations and coordinate closely with American formations. That made him function partly as an operational fleet commander, even though a larger British logistical establishment would eventually demand more of the conventional commander-in-chief role.