Nuclear escorts made high-speed carrier redeployment credible

Strategic movement between theaters differed from ordinary operations after a carrier group arrived. Published top-speed figures deserve caution, so endurance matters more here than a precise knot figure. A nuclear carrier could sustain very high speed around a blocked canal or between oceans, while conventional escorts would eventually need fuel. Speed also complicated submarine interception because a submarine had to begin near the carrier's route or move fast enough to become noisy. The proposed escort requirement was small but important: one to three nuclear ships could protect the rare carrier redeployment whose urgency justified sustained flank speed.