How the Third Sea Lord controlled naval contracts

The Third Sea Lord's acceptance signature controlled whether a new ship entered service and whether the contractor received payment. Jellicoe's dissatisfaction with armor and gunnery trials therefore had direct financial consequences for builders. Pressure from the First Sea Lord could lead to a resignation over professional responsibility, with parliamentary and press scrutiny for the government. Admiral Henderson supplies a hypothetical example: a threat to resign over Churchill's proposed construction pauses could have carried considerable political weight.