Small escorts do the fleet's daily work

What is the most underrated warship type in different periods?

The answer champions smaller ships: First World War sloops and destroyers, treaty-era escorts, and Age of Sail third rates that carried out much of a navy's essential work.

The answer argues that prestige warships dominate discussion while smaller vessels make strategy possible. In a submarine counterfactual, a British reply can be large-scale escort construction outside treaty limits rather than an exclusive focus on major combatants. The same constraint applies in the Age of Sail, where money, manpower, and material made reliance on only the largest rates impossible.