The advantage is responsiveness rather than payload or endurance. Two helicopter sloops and a converted merchant platform might carry sixteen aircraft, keeping four airborne and another four ready to launch. Once one patrol finds a U-boat, several aircraft can converge before it escapes or repositions, turning the German wolf-pack principle against the submarine. Radar would further reduce the U-boat's ability to approach unseen. If early losses deprive Germany of experienced crews and prevent the first Happy Time, Hitler may reduce submarine funding just as he historically lost confidence in major surface ships.
Notable Point · 1:07:39-1:14:43
Convoy helicopter numbers reverse the wolf-pack problem
A convoy with multiple helicopter platforms could keep aircraft airborne and on alert, rapidly concentrating several attackers against any exposed submarine.