Like Corvettes, the sloop was a slow escort (16 knots) vessel,
small and somewhat lightly armed. The main design element of
this type of ship was long voyages so they could outperform the
corvette in this regard. They were intended for the
Mediterranean and South Pacific service which made them cold and
miserable ships in the more hostile North Atlantic. One class,
Black Swan, that was designed just before the war, was faster
(19 knots) and carried more anti-aircraft armament. Sloops
generally carried a large number of depth charges and were very
well equipped with sensors making then effective U-boat hunters.
The Royal Navy's escort sloop emphasized range and anti-
aircraft protection on a destroyer size hull. Destroyers, by
contrast, emphasized high speed, low angle guns, and torpedoes
for their fleet screen duties. A sloop achieved half a
destroyer's speed on 1/10 the horsepower; but ASDIC was useless
at higher speeds, and more economical engines offered greater
endurance. Destroyer construction took prece