Speed, range, and the raider-hunting carrier

French fast capital ships, including the Dunkerque class, answered the need for a heavy anti-raider force. Béarn did not fit comfortably beside them: at about 21.2 knots with 32 aircraft, she compared poorly with HMS Eagle at roughly 24 knots and Kaga at roughly 28 knots with a much larger air group. A carrier accompanying fast heavy units had to move rapidly between ocean search areas and provide the reconnaissance needed to find a dangerous target. At the Battle of the River Plate, commanders concentrated cruisers where they expected the raider to appear and accepted a loss of search coverage elsewhere. A wrong prediction would have left the force badly misplaced. Cruisers and land-based patrol aircraft were more suitable for hunting armed merchant raiders, while carriers and capital ships answered the threat from heavier surface warships.