HMS Hermes as a trade-protection carrier

What was HMS Hermes doing when she was not refitting or sunk?

She filled a trade-protection cruiser-carrier role, allowing fleet carriers to concentrate on strikes.

Hermes performed a cruiser-carrier role in trade protection when she was not refitting. Her aircraft could scout wide sea areas, investigate contacts, and give an escort force reach that a conventional cruiser lacked. That employment let newer fleet carriers concentrate on offensive strikes and other high-value missions. An older and smaller carrier could remain strategically useful by releasing scarce first-line ships for work only they could perform.