How would mass-produced uncrewed escorts change the Battle of the Atlantic?
Short answerMass production would remove the escort shortage: 48 drone escorts around a convoy could form sixteen three-ship submarine-hunting teams.
NotesEarly Battle of the Atlantic tactics often needed two or three escorts to attack one submarine with ASDIC and depth charges. Escort scarcity therefore limited how many contacts a convoy could engage. In the hypothetical mass-production scenario, four dozen drone escorts could operate alongside crewed ships controlling them. Forty-eight escorts would form sixteen three-ship teams, allowing sixteen submarines to be attacked at once. Such numbers are expected to inflict rapid U-boat losses.