They were typically half the length and one-third the displacement of the larger fleet carriers. While they were slower, less armed, unarmoured and carried fewer aircraft, they were less expensive and could be built more quickly. This was their principal advantage, as escort carriers could be completed in greater numbers as a stop-gap when fleet carriers were scarce.
However, the lack of protection made escort carriers particularly vulnerable and several were sunk with great loss of life. The light carrier hull classification symbol CVL was a similar concept to escort carriers in most respects, but they were designed for higher speeds for deployment with fleet carriers. Escort carriers were too slow to keep up with the main forces consisting of fleet carriers, battleships, and cruisers.
Instead, they were used to defend convoys from enemy threats such as submarines and planes. In the invasions of mainland Europe and Pacific islands, escort carriers provided air support to ground forces during amphibious operations. Escort carriers also served as backup aircraft transports for fleet carriers and ferried aircraft of all military services to points of delivery. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Wikimedia list article. Main article: Avenger class escort carrier. Main article: Attacker class escort carrier. Main article: Ruler class escort carrier. Main article: Nairana class escort carrier. Lists of aircraft carriers.
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