Submarine support could force a larger response to surface raiders

The Soviet submarine circumnavigation of 1966 demonstrated an ability to operate far from home. In the proposed raiding scenario, submarines could support a gun-armed surface ship and threaten the forces sent to hunt it. A hypothetical boat carrying thirty torpedoes might reserve eight for its return journey, leaving twenty-two for attacks, while a surface raider could carry many more shells for sinking merchant ships. Suspected submarine support would require a larger opposing battle group than a surface raider alone. That response would divert ships from the North Atlantic or Pacific and affect neutral governments' confidence in Western control of the sea. Those perceptions could influence access to supplies if a conventional war lasted for months or years.