How would naval history change if Admiral Reginald Henderson lived to the age of ninety?
Short answerHe could prevent wartime construction pauses, produce more carriers and capital ships, strengthen the Far East, and bring crucial escorts into service earlier.
NotesA surviving Reginald Henderson would probably fight Churchill's pause in carrier and capital-ship construction and might win. Churchill could then send the difficult admiral to the Far East, where his carrier expertise would shape preparations against Japan. More completed ships would change the forces available at Taranto and in the hunt for Bismarck, and Force Z might receive carrier support. Henderson could also press for earlier Flower- and Hunt-class escort orders. A six-month gain in delivery would matter during the opening years of the Battle of the Atlantic.