About those lend-lease destroyers. The way I understand it was that this was something concocted by Churchill, without advice from the Admiralty. Roosevelt had readily agreed to transfer 50 old destroyers (dating from about 1919) to the RN and RCN. There was some reticence generally in the USA about getting involved in another European war (as it was seen at the time), but not on the part of their President.

Unfortunately, Chuchill did not understand that mothballed antique fleet destroyers do not make good long-range convoy escorts. Torpedo tubes are not wanted here, neither is speed. What is needed is endurance, good sea-keeping qualities and anti-submarine weapons, which is what these boats did not have. And it took a long time to convert them, not necessarily the fault of the USA.

Les