Escort carriers were useful because they were plentiful

What was the most interesting use of an escort carrier?

Their varied strike and experimental roles were possible because navies had enough escort carriers to test and adapt new uses.

Escort carriers performed strike and support missions as well as experimental work. Their many hulls gave navies room to test ideas. Losing the use of one ship for an experiment did not jeopardize a tiny, irreplaceable carrier force. Numbers therefore created space for learning and adaptation.