The Royal Navy assigned Rear Admirals Submarines and Destroyers, giving both sides of the undersea contest senior institutional advocates. Submariners also saw themselves as a distinct elite within the service. Andrew Cunningham served among the interwar Rear Admirals Destroyers. Hugh Sinclair moved from Director of Naval Intelligence and leadership of the submarine service to become chief of the Secret Intelligence Service, or MI6, from 1923 to 1939. A later exchange distinguishes MI6 from the Special Operations Executive, which was a separate department rather than the coordinator of Britain's other intelligence services. Senior sponsorship of this calibre helped preserve technical and tactical expertise between the wars.
Notable Point · 2:19:53-2:22:32
Specialist leaders sustained submarine and ASW expertise
Rear Admirals Submarines and Destroyers gave both sides of the undersea contest senior advocates, including Andrew Cunningham and Hugh Sinclair.