But it isn't scholarship if it's wrong, is it?Obviously, lets dismiss scholarship out of hand.
As for lived experience. @dvyws Age for beauty and all that obviously, I'm happy to bow to you but next time I run into R.Adm Morisetti at the RAC or the In & Out Club would you agree he is an ok source to support/confirm either side (commanding officer HMS Invincible)? He's the only guy I know who ran a big ship. The other top bods I know are all submariners.
This is a conversation I've had before and it ended in stalemate so I would like confirmation one way or another. Because I've seen a number of differing evidence and opinions from primary and secondary sources.
And I'm not going to go into the whole "I know x..." thing. I was a junior officer when I left the Mob, and lost contact with most of my compatriots, although I occasionally came across them subsequently. Some of them did quite well for themselves. But please don't tell me I didn't know how to address members of the ships company I was serving with - especially when trying to be condescending.