The quoted wartime totals show how much escort strength lay below destroyer size. Roughly a thousand trawlers and steam drifters served, with about 250 lost. The Castle programme is given as 95 planned and 44 completed, while the Flower totals are 305 ordered and 294 completed. The Flower losses are put at 33, including 22 to submarines. Frigate completions are given as 151 Rivers, 28 Lochs, and 26 Bays. These numbers explain why a comparison restricted to larger warships misses much of the escort-building effort.
Notable Point · 5:09:38-5:12:10
The scale of Royal Navy small-escort production
Trawler, corvette, and frigate totals reveal the large force omitted by comparisons focused on destroyers.