How many escorts were envisaged for a British task group?

What escort arrangement did Britain envisage for its task groups in this period?

The theoretical aim was three air-defence and three ASW escorts, although that strength was rarely achieved. Submarine protection in Britain required additional ships.

The planning aim described here is three air-defence escorts and three ASW escorts for a British task group. That combination was rarely achieved in practice. Carrier escorts also had to coexist with the requirement for three ships protecting submarines in Britain. In the expanded-carrier scenario, those commitments support an estimate of at least fifteen and probably eighteen Type 23s. The latter total would be two more than the sixteen built historically.