Biter and Avenger represent the rapid expansion that fleet-carrier delays made necessary. Britain and the United States both had more aviation missions than their first-line carriers could cover, so every additional escort-carrier deck relieved pressure elsewhere. Convoy coverage and offensive hunter groups came first, but aircraft transport, amphibious air cover, and support to fleet operations soon competed for the same ships. Meeting the baseline convoy requirement did not create a true surplus because flexible flight decks immediately attracted further demand.
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Escort carriers fill the fleet's shortage of flight decks
Once enough escort carriers covered Atlantic convoys and hunter groups, their surplus flight decks could substitute for scarce fleet carriers in other missions.