 The high death rate led to rapid promotion for those who survived, and Balchen was made Post Captain at the relatively young age of 27 during the Nine Years' War.Balchen had spent the war aboard HMS "Dragon" and HMS "Cambridge" under Admiral John Neville, who was impressed enough with his subordinate to give him command of the prize ship HMS "Virgin", the safe conduct of which to England earned him the step to captain.As with the majority of the Royal Navy, Balchen was placed in reserve at the war's conclusion and returned to England to await further deployment.