India's ports, dockyards, and coastal merchant traffic provided a foundation for a stronger Royal Indian Navy. India depended on sea movement between ports, yet entered the war with too few escorts to protect that traffic from German, Italian, and Japanese submarines operating in the Indian Ocean. A larger prewar sloop force could have reduced losses, killed experienced enemy submariners earlier, and eased the disruption of internal supply. County-class cruisers would have added status and distant presence, while a recurring escort program could have built the personnel and industrial base needed for wartime expansion.
Chapter · 1:41:22-1:55:15
India's missed Indian Ocean naval build-up
Cruisers and a larger sloop force could have used Indian dockyards to protect coastal supply routes and build naval capacity before war.