Daniel's alternate timeline begins on 1 January 1936 and expands escort construction before the war. It builds Bittern- and Black Swan-derived sloops, then shifts yards toward Hunt-class escorts, while retaining older destroyers that would otherwise have been discarded. Corvette and River-class frigate orders begin at the Munich crisis, and Hedgehog development moves forward. Australian and Canadian yards continue Tribal-class construction as British yards change priorities. By 1 April 1941, the scenario has three U-boats on patrol against the fifteen used as its historical comparison, because earlier losses have prevented the German force from building up. Those figures are outcomes of the imagined program, whose argument depends on gaining an escort and weapons advantage before submarine numbers grow.
Chapter · 4:06:13-4:14:30
An early escort program changes the U-boat war
A 1936 counterfactual accelerates British escorts, weapons, aircraft, and retained destroyers to ask how early U-boat losses alter the Battle of the Atlantic.