This may be a bit off topic, but how far back would the timeline need to change to really have affected the war?
What if in the design of the 12-shi fighter (A6M), Shibata had won the argument against Genda (Better performance versus Better maneuverability)? This affects much more than it first appears because the result would have been a more short-legged fighter that would not have been able to fly missions against the Philippines from Taiwan. There would not have been the ability to fly long range missions against Guadalcanal. Without that particular weapon, perhaps plans would have been different. The long range and performance of the A6M was such that the Japanese believed it was the equivalent of about 3 fighters from other nations.
What if there had been a third strike against Pearl Harbor that took out the Navy Yard and fuel storage. Pacific fleet would not be able to operate out of Pearl Harbor at all....
Japan clearly wasn't able to really "win" the last two wars it had fought against China and Russia. China and Russia had enough internal conflict that they had more threats internally than externally. Neither of those wars ended up with the loser totally defeated and occupied.
- Ivan.
What if in the design of the 12-shi fighter (A6M), Shibata had won the argument against Genda (Better performance versus Better maneuverability)? This affects much more than it first appears because the result would have been a more short-legged fighter that would not have been able to fly missions against the Philippines from Taiwan. There would not have been the ability to fly long range missions against Guadalcanal. Without that particular weapon, perhaps plans would have been different. The long range and performance of the A6M was such that the Japanese believed it was the equivalent of about 3 fighters from other nations.
What if there had been a third strike against Pearl Harbor that took out the Navy Yard and fuel storage. Pacific fleet would not be able to operate out of Pearl Harbor at all....
Japan clearly wasn't able to really "win" the last two wars it had fought against China and Russia. China and Russia had enough internal conflict that they had more threats internally than externally. Neither of those wars ended up with the loser totally defeated and occupied.
- Ivan.