Fewer German resources for U-boats in late 1940 and early 1941 would let British escort numbers, tactics, and experience pull further ahead. The damage would extend beyond boat counts. A rapidly growing submarine arm spreads junior officers from successful boats into commands of their own and distributes operational knowledge. Slower growth keeps more of that future cadre concentrated aboard veteran-led boats for longer. Keeping these officers together longer would pass on more knowledge and could make them better captains when they received their own boats. It would also expose the whole group to destruction aboard one boat, erasing a school of practice and its institutional memory at once.
Notable Point · 1:17:58-1:19:27
A slower U-boat expansion risks losing its training cadre
Delaying German submarine growth gives British escorts more time and keeps junior officers concentrated aboard a smaller number of veteran-led boats that can be lost together.