As Commander-in-Chief Home Fleet from 1950 to 1952, Vian deliberately flew his flag in HMS Vanguard so he could support several kinds of task group. The battleship could reinforce carrier, amphibious, or surface forces while providing the presence needed for port visits and naval diplomacy. By this stage Vian knew that his temperament, limited appetite for politics and diplomacy, and institutional baggage made appointment as First Sea Lord improbable, especially with Mountbatten also in contention. After leaving naval service, he published Action This Day in 1960, served as a bank and insurance-company director, and died in 1968 aged seventy-three. His aggressive reputation rested on professional calculation alongside compassion and stubbornness. He demanded high standards of himself and his subordinates while supporting their efforts to meet them; his promise to keep the carriers off Salerno as long as needed expressed that sense of responsibility.
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Why Vian chose HMS Vanguard as his Home Fleet flagship
Vian chose Vanguard as a flexible Home Fleet flagship and ended his career remembered for high standards, delegated initiative, personal accountability, and support for those he commanded.