Interwar planners did not know that German surface-raider operations would be contained as they eventually were. Admiral Graf Spee, Deutschland, Scharnhorst, Gneisenau, Bismarck, and disguised raiders such as Kormoran illustrate the range of threats they had to imagine. Aircraft from small carriers could search much larger areas than cruisers and help convoys avoid or concentrate against a raider. The near encounter between HMS Rodney and Gneisenau also shows how narrow margins of speed and detection could determine whether a sortie produced a decisive battle. A dispersed force of escort carriers would have added maritime reconnaissance value even before its anti-submarine role became urgent.
Notable Point · 19:43-21:27
Small carriers could scout the oceans for surface raiders
Aircraft from widely distributed small carriers could search for battleships, cruisers, and disguised merchant raiders across far more ocean than surface escorts alone.