The 1890s British convoy concept paired perhaps a dozen merchant ships with a second-class protected cruiser. It was smaller than the mass convoys of the world wars. A French raider might defeat an Apollo-class escort, yet the resulting damage and delay would give merchants time to escape and British reinforcements time to arrive. The escort could therefore protect trade without winning a clean duel. Surface raiders tested this dispersed network, while submarines later required a different convoy system.
Chapter · 6:36-11:14
Commerce raiders against British cruiser escorts
France modeled its raiders on the American Columbia class, while Britain protected trade with second-class cruisers assigned to dispersed merchant groups.