sentences:  Rear Admiral James Goldrick, in the "Australian Dictionary of Biography", observed that Dowling "was thrust into the highest positions of the RAN largely as a result of the heavy casualties of World War II".When John Armstrong—the only similarly qualified and more senior Navy captain—was pronounced unfit for seagoing duty, Dowling was given the chance to command Australia's first aircraft carrier, , commissioned in England on 16 December 1948.In April the following year, two months after the ship's belated acceptance into service due to teething troubles, Dowling embarked "Sydney" for Australia with two squadrons of fighters aboard.