Royal Navy air-group command was a short career step

Who was the Royal Navy's best wartime carrier air-group commander?

The comparison is difficult because the Royal Navy rotated good officers out of air-group command after relatively short tours.

British air-group commanders normally held the appointment for only a limited run of operations. After perhaps six to nine months, a successful officer could move to command an escort carrier or take another assignment. That rotation spread carrier experience through the expanding wartime service. It also prevented individuals from accumulating the long, continuous air-group record that made some US Navy commanders famous, so direct comparisons can mistake personnel policy for a lack of talent.