Hunt destroyers and adapted V and W escorts

The Hunt class was a purpose-built escort destroyer, while the V and W classes were First World War destroyers progressively adapted for escort work during the Second World War. The contrast shows two routes to the same operational capability: new construction and alteration of ships already available. It also reinforces the importance of tracing design lineage rather than relying on type names alone. The discussion returns to the interwar importance of sloops and asks why that contribution disappears from some later accounts.