Japanese aircraft carrier Kaga at 1937 Spithead Review

Perhaps Germany asks to buy a new Japanese-built carrier in exchange for closer political/diplomatic ties.

Or if Japanese slipways are full, Hitler hires Japanese designers and builders. How's that for the master race....?

yes yes yes. like that.

They could use the hull of the Tirpitz for the new Kaga style carrier. They can convert the Graf Zeppelin into one too. Man i'd love to see that ship.
 
American reaction

What would be the possibility of the USN seeing the Kaga, and deciding to make some major modifications to Wasp,she would be only 13 months into a build that would take until 1939 to launch?

Also, would this push the USN into pushing for an earlier Essex start or the laying down of an additional Yorktown?
 
What would be the possibility of the USN seeing the Kaga, and deciding to make some major modifications to Wasp,she would be only 13 months into a build that would take until 1939 to launch?

Also, would this push the USN into pushing for an earlier Essex start or the laying down of an additional Yorktown?


I thought the ame thing but she would have been under construction for a year or so (Laid down 1st April 1936) - I think it would have been too late to change much

However if memory serves Hornet and Essex were ordered at the same time - its just that Hornet was ordered as a 3rd Yorktown (laid down in Sept 1939) and Essex...as an Essex (Laid down in April 1941)

Perhaps the advent of the Kaga appearing at the review could change the Essex being laid down at the same time as Hornet as a 4th Yorktown.
 
Perhaps Germany asks to buy a new Japanese-built carrier in exchange for closer political/diplomatic ties.

Or if Japanese slipways are full, Hitler hires Japanese designers and builders. How's that for the master race....?

Unlikely. As a great power of the time, Germany isn't going to have another nation build any of its naval ships for it.

The Germans might lease any relevant patent technologies, study Japanese designs or send observers to review Japanese naval aviation doctrine for lessons. Those are kind of routine things. But in the end, if Germany wants new carrier types of its own, it's going to design and build them themselves.
 
Sorry, what you are claiming is not consistent. How can the Japanese 'carefully plot' for a war in China but have a major oversight of not having their only available fleet carrier not ready immediately upon the start of that war? The IJN had only a single CV operational as Akagi was in the process of being modernized between late 1935 and late 1938 while Soryu was not commissioned until late 1937. These are not the decisions of a fleet that was carefully plotting for a war in China in the mid 1937 timeframe.
I did my best to cover off China in the OP. This is about the IJN sending the carrier to Spithead, not if they should.
 
What would be the possibility of the USN seeing the Kaga, and deciding to make some major modifications to Wasp,she would be only 13 months into a build that would take until 1939 to launch?

Also, would this push the USN into pushing for an earlier Essex start or the laying down of an additional Yorktown?
Would the USN consider a double hangar modification to CV-8, laid down OTL Sept. 1939?

With improvements over the IJN such as deck parking and folding wings (ex-SBD), a double deck CV-8 would carry a massive airwing.... provided sufficient fuel space can be found on the limited displacement.
 
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