The 1930 London Naval Treaty formed part of the sloop's background. In wartime, sloops took on minesweeping, minelaying, convoy escort, anti-submarine patrol, and air defence. Some served as commander-in-chief's flagships, while HMS Enchantress was the Admiralty yacht. This range of duties explains why sloops mattered before the emergency escort programmes of the Second World War reached full scale. Their capabilities and accumulated skills became the pattern later reproduced in corvettes, frigates, and other convoy escorts.
Chapter · 8:01-10:08
Why sloops set the escort standard
Treaty-era sloops combined anti-submarine, minesweeping, minelaying, air-defence, and command duties, setting the pattern for later convoy escorts.