How escort mass could disrupt U-boat learning

An illustrative programme of twelve sloops a year in Britain and six each in Canada, Australia and India would produce thirty annually. The resulting prewar force is imagined as eighteen escort groups of fifteen ships, with groups of twelve offered as another allocation. These are rough alternatives, and the discussion also recognises that ships must be available for duties beyond the convoys at sea. Escort numbers matter tactically because one ship may need to maintain ASDIC contact while another makes a depth-charge run. A larger group can prosecute a submarine contact while retaining ships with the merchant convoy. Earlier losses among veteran U-boat crews could then disrupt the transfer of experienced officers and sailors from returning patrols into newly trained boats. The counterfactual links peacetime hull production to convoy protection and the German submarine arm's ability to pass on experience.