WI: Imperial Japan in the Atomic Age

Delta Force

Banned
So, what about the conventional forces of the Army and Navy? How might that be sorted out? Would any Pacific islands be converted to bases for strategic bombers or missile submarines?
 
It would be interesting if the IJN and IJAAF had delivery systems for Pacific operations such as I-Boat ballistic submarines and long-range Nakajima strategic bombers.
 
So, what about the conventional forces of the Army and Navy? How might that be sorted out? Would any Pacific islands be converted to bases for strategic bombers or missile submarines?

I imagine the islands in the Pacific are either too isolated or too small to be easily defended. The Home islands would probably be best to host missile silos and submarines.
 
So, what about the conventional forces of the Army and Navy? How might that be sorted out? Would any Pacific islands be converted to bases for strategic bombers or missile submarines?

Truk is an obvious candidate for both, since it's already going to be a major fleet facility.

Aside from that, there aren't any really obvious locations.

Maybe some submarine pens might be built on/in suitable high islands, but that's more likely to happen in the home islands, since there really isn't geology suited to that elsewhere.
 

Delta Force

Banned
Truk could be a good forward operating base against Australia, Singapore, and the Philippines, but what about Hawaii?
 
Truk could be a good forward operating base against Australia, Singapore, and the Philippines, but what about Hawaii?

Sure, but equally possible is it being completely neutered with a sneak attack by a submarine fleet or missile attack. Small islands - as "small" as Hawaii is - probably don't work good for missile bases, I don't think. At least Cuba had some room for strategic planning.
 
Sure, but equally possible is it being completely neutered with a sneak attack by a submarine fleet or missile attack. Small islands - as "small" as Hawaii is - probably don't work good for missile bases, I don't think. At least Cuba had some room for strategic planning.

Pretty much. And there isn't anything useful for a serious airbase or a submarine base between the Home Islands and Hawaii or Alaska.
 
There's also, of course, the fact that the entire premise is quite unlikely to occur in any relevant POD..

That too, but it's also historically notable, since it's a decent portion of IJN planning and logistics in WW2.

Like Iwo Jima is the one exception, and even then it wasn't valuable to anyone until pretty late in the war.

Also the good guy navy fallacy is giving me some pretty good ideas for a TL that's been bouncing around in my head for a while now.
 
That too, but it's also historically notable, since it's a decent portion of IJN planning and logistics in WW2.

Like Iwo Jima is the one exception, and even then it wasn't valuable to anyone until pretty late in the war.

Also the good guy navy fallacy is giving me some pretty good ideas for a TL that's been bouncing around in my head for a while now.

Indeed, this is a very interesting logistics/strategy discussion.
Glad to help on 海軍善玉論. :D
 
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