HMS Birmingham did not take the most powerful available sloop into Tsingtao. Captain Lancelot Brind judged HMS Folkestone sufficient for the supporting role and sent the better-armed ship back to the commander-in-chief. The decision preserved a stronger reserve for the China Station if the confrontation escalated elsewhere. This is a compact example of matching a ship to the task while protecting scarce capability against a wider contingency.
Notable Point · 30:15-31:28
Why Birmingham took the lightly armed Folkestone
Captain Lancelot Brind chose the weaker of two available sloops for Tsingtao so the China Station retained its more capable ship if the crisis widened.