The second part of the first in a four-volume series detailing all USN warships from 1883 to the present day. Volume One Part Two covers Escort Carriers. Escort carriers were small and slow aircraft carriers used in Word War II. They were typically half the length of larger fleet carriers, carried fewer planes and were more lightly armed and armoured. They were most often built upon a commercial ship hull, so they were cheaper and could be built quickly. This was their main advantage, as they could be made in greater numbers as a stop-gap when fleet carriers were scarce.