The first Hunt orders came in 1939 before the outbreak of war, as did orders for Flower-class corvettes. The Navy already anticipated needing many ships for convoy work. It wanted something with more fighting power than a sloop without requiring a full fleet destroyer for every convoy. The Hunt combined that escort mission with a hull derived from sloop design.
Chapter · 21:28-22:32
Why the Navy ordered Hunt-class escort destroyers
The Hunt design used a sloop-derived hull to give convoys an escort with greater punch.