Later escort gains do not outweigh the major-ship delays

Shifting designers and freeing some yard capacity helped later escort programs such as Castle-class corvettes and successors to the Hunts. These were limited gains, so continuing major ships still carried some opportunity costs. Churchill's fear of repeating Britain's First World War vulnerability to U-boats also makes the decision understandable in its historical setting. The assessment firmly favors keeping carriers, cruisers, and selected fast battleships under construction as the better course for the Royal Navy. The effects would spread through the Mediterranean, Atlantic, and Far Eastern wars because the added ships would change maintenance schedules, deployments, and the risks opponents could accept.