The original concept assumed France and Norway would remain available, constraining German submarines and letting small escort groups meet convoys nearer Britain. That plan limited the anticipated deployment area, but it did not make the Flower a calm-water coastal craft. The North Sea, Irish Sea, and Atlantic could all produce dangerous seas, so the hull still needed genuine ocean-going behavior. The design therefore reconciled a geographically bounded escort plan with rough-weather seakeeping and crew survival.
Notable Point · 8:47-11:27
Why a coastal escort still needed ocean-going seakeeping
Prewar planning expected Flowers to meet convoys near the British approaches, but the North Sea, Irish Sea, and Atlantic still demanded a hull able to survive severe weather.