Short tenure, fast battleships, and armaments pressure

Jellicoe's studies were moving away from a rigid battleship-battlecruiser divide and toward the fast-battleship idea. A longer tenure as Third Sea Lord might have given him the institutional power to pursue that vision. Reginald Henderson's six years in the same office before the Second World War provide the comparison: influence expanded markedly after the first three years. Jellicoe served for less than two years before returning to a sea command, partly because promotion still required operational seniority. Political complaints from armaments firms facing tougher standards may also have helped end his tenure.