A helicopter sloop carrying three or four aircraft could support base patrols as well as convoys. In this scenario, building roughly four annually from 1928 would leave the Royal Navy with more than forty by 1939. Sloops are relatively inexpensive, and their orders help keep shipyards occupied and other construction prices down. Dispersing those ships would put helicopter patrols at bases and convoy routes around the world. That force depends on sustaining the building program before the war.
Notable Point · 56:31-57:55
Helicopter sloop orders support shipyards and dispersed patrols
A steady interwar sloop program could distribute helicopter patrols widely while keeping shipyards in work.