Similarly through the Mediterranean there would be an anti-aircraft escort for all convoys, And it may be well to emphasize again that, as the tactics to be used against submarines and those to be used against aircraft differ so widely, it is undesirable to seek to incorporate both systems of defence in one ship. We did this in the early escort vessels that we built some ten years ago, and the irreverent young officers who served in the vessels, realizing their lack of fighting value for either purpose, nicknamed them the "Tiddlers."
Fourteen of them mounted only a pair of high-angle guns each. Then some were built with two 4.7in. guns and one 3in: AA. gun. Then came more with three and four 4in.
AA. guns. Our latest type mounts eight 4in. A.A. guns, but it is known that a new design has been prepared which will be much more heavily armed. This class, it is hoped, will be designed specifically for antisubmarine work, all anti-aircraft dedence in future being left to the converted over-age vessels.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.