A ship could emerge from doctrine, politics, or necessity. The US Navy used escort carriers extensively because wartime demand required every available aviation deck, while large carriers remained the preferred instrument for fleet battle. Escort carriers covered secondary missions and reduced the strain that would otherwise pull fleet carriers away from high-intensity strike work. Doctrine still had to absorb politically constrained and emergency designs into a coherent force. Wartime inventories alone therefore do not state what a navy ideally wanted to build.
Notable Point · 1:08:33-1:09:54
Escort carriers answer wartime necessity
The Navy's many small wartime escort carriers release large strike carriers from secondary duties while leaving its fleet-carrier preference intact.