Why floatplanes and sloops multiplied peacetime naval presence

A worldwide navy cannot place its whole fleet in every theatre, so peacetime presence depends on making limited local forces politically credible. Such presence is a bluff backed by real forces: an aircraft or sloop demonstrates that Britain is watching while larger forces remain available elsewhere if a crisis becomes a war. Floatplanes were especially useful because their range and ability to alight on water made a cruiser seem active across a wider area than the ship alone could cover. Carrier aircraft were better suited to combat, while helicopters were easier to operate and excelled in anti-submarine work. Force design therefore had to account for visible peacetime deterrence as well as wartime fighting.