The US Navy could not maintain the same commitment everywhere when destroyers were scarce. Coast Guard and Canadian participation in the Atlantic illustrate how escort work extended beyond the US Navy's available hulls. Participants criticise the balance of earlier appropriations between major ships and destroyers, and stress the delay between a contract and delivery. Prewar orders behind British Flower and Hunt programmes provide another example. Wartime availability therefore reflects decisions made years before a ship enters service.
Notable Point · 1:31:00-1:33:18
Why US wartime shipbuilding did not prevent early escort shortages
Appropriations, construction time and competing theatres explain gaps in early wartime escort availability.