Salerno exposed the penalties of cramped water, low carrier speed, and aircraft poorly suited to short decks. It also proved that several small carriers could operate as a squadron and provide sustained air cover when land-based fighters lacked range. Later Indian Ocean operations placed escort carriers directly behind the Burma campaign as mobile airfields supporting troops ashore. The type had therefore expanded from Atlantic trade protection into a general tool for amphibious and littoral operations.
Notable Point · 1:14:34-1:15:15
Escort carriers become amphibious support ships
Operations from the Mediterranean to Burma turned escort carriers into mobile airfields for armies advancing beyond reliable land-based fighter coverage.