Why convoy timing depended on escort capacity

What changes if convoys begin earlier or later in the world wars?

Earlier convoys reduce losses only when enough escorts are available; serious delay during unrestricted submarine warfare could threaten Britain's ability to continue the war.

Escort availability constrains how early a convoy system can begin. Ordering First World War Flower-class sloops a year earlier is offered as one way to provide the protection that earlier convoys would need. A prolonged delay during unrestricted submarine warfare could put pressure on Britain to negotiate, although that outcome remains a possibility. The panel disagrees about the likeliest German response to earlier convoys: one suggestion is to send submarines out in twos or threes, while the counterargument favors laying mines ahead of the shipping. The small-group proposal is explicitly distinguished from the later Second World War wolf-pack system.