Who joined the Royal Naval Air Service?

Did unemployed destroyer personnel supply most Royal Naval Air Service recruits?

No; naval aviators came from a more independent, opportunity-seeking part of the Royal Navy's recruiting pool rather than chiefly from displaced destroyer crews.

Royal Naval Air Service recruitment drew on a different pool from the supposed transfer of spare destroyer personnel. Its recruits are compared with the people who, in earlier centuries, might have become privateers or frigate captains. The analogy emphasizes independence and a taste for seeking opportunities. It is a characterization of the recruiting culture, rather than a numerical breakdown of where aviators came from.