Convoy protection as a global logistics system

The stream of HX, SC, and ONS convoy designations represents only the Atlantic portion of the Allied problem. The cited sequence covers just 45 days, from 1 January to 15 February 1942, which gives scale to the supposedly routine work behind the campaign. The same escort burden extended to Arctic, Pacific, Mediterranean, Dutch East Indies, and Black Sea routes, as well as battle and assault groups. In this interpretation, the remarkable achievement was how effectively relatively limited naval forces were organized and employed across that demand. The episode offers two possible readings: submarines were less decisive than sometimes claimed, or Allied crews extracted exceptional value from the ships available. It treats the second reading as more persuasive.