Surface raiders and submarine dilemmas

A submarine's torpedo supply restricts a prolonged campaign against merchant shipping. Torpedoes are large and heavy, reloading requires a suitable port, and some weapons must be reserved for threats encountered before returning to rearm. A surface raider can use gunfire against lightly protected merchant ships while submarines wait for a naval response. In the South Atlantic example, a carrier with a few escorts might deal with the raider alone. Suspected submarines instead require a full carrier battle group because they may be waiting for the carrier. That draws the force away from the heavily patrolled North Atlantic and its supporting sonar systems. Sinking a carrier under those conditions would give the Soviet Union a major political success as well as a military one.