Many Hunts were ordered in March 1939, laid down in June, and in some cases completed by March 1940. An earlier financial-cycle decision might have brought them into service before the war began. That would have provided more escort hulls for convoys, carriers, and supply groups while pre-war work on ASDIC, depth-charge throwers, and mortars continued. This is a counterfactual and does not claim that equipment development alone would have solved the opening escort crisis.
Notable Point · 5:00-9:15
Could earlier Hunt orders have changed 1940?
An earlier 1938 order could have put more Hunts in service before war, when the Royal Navy needed escorts and improved anti-submarine equipment.