2) Next best choice, roll the die and attack UK and Dutch in East Asia but ignore US. See if FDR can get a declaration of war out of congress. If the gamble pays off Japan has its resources without a war with US. If the gamble fails they are no worse off than historic.
You mean something akin to the Shinano class? The general view from the thread I linked to is that such a massive ship wouldn't have been able to effectively operate its air wing.
So equip a smaller wing. I'm sure they'd find a use for the extra space.
What would make the IJN to stop building the Yamatos and go for the Shokakus?
The Kantai Kessen concept remained the primary Japanese naval strategy into the Pacific War. It was the disaster of Midway, not Admiral Yamamoto, that changed their minds.
I've read that the problems with Japanese and German air combat training was that they allowed their best, most veteran combat pilots to remain in combat until they were eventually killed.
"Fly till you die".
The U.S. made a point of rotating veteran pilots back home and using them as instructor so they could pass on their first hand combat knowledge and skills to many more new pilots.
Maybe not... The US massively reinforces the Philippines, declares a ""Neutrality" Patrol" around them and attacks IJN forces in it on sight, while sending supplies to Singapore. Japan is then confronted by a de facto hostile in a well-defended position sitting across its lines of communications. That's considerably worse than OTL.
There's a good TL in there probably, but I lack the detailed knowledge.![]()
What is the US going to patrol exactly? Dutch East Indies, etc is going to fall well before any major reinforcement occurs. Are you suggesting US is going to attack Japanese ships on the high seas moving between areas of Japanese control without a declaration of war?
All USN war games pre-war assumed a big build up and movement west across the pacific. So you are suggesting a repeat of moving forward the Pacific fleet from California to Hawaii but all the west to the Philippines?
Michael
Well, that was the US did with German warships when the Exclusion or Nuetrality Zone was establsished in the western Atlantic. The US was hunting and attacking suspected submarines. Look up the "Shoot on Sight" order.
The equivalent was issued with the November 1941 'War Warning' sent to all US Navy, Army, & Coast Guard commands in or bordering the Pacific in November 1941. That included the order to consider any Japanese warship or aircraft approaching a US military installation as hostile and to attack it. There was no refrence in the order about national waters, the three or twelve mile limits. Just any approaching. The local commanders had leeway to defend their installation as they thought best.
Correct, but Sec War Stimson argued successfully for the Phillipines to be reinforced & that in fact was underway, contradicting both WP Orange, the Plan Dog Memo, and the Rainbow Plans. While the navy knew better and had no plans to rush off to save PI, there was a assumption acted on by Stimson, Mac & others that the US Army could defend PI for many months, perhaps up to a year.
What is the US going to patrol exactly? Dutch East Indies, etc is going to fall well before any major reinforcement occurs. Are you suggesting US is going to attack Japanese ships on the high seas moving between areas of Japanese control without a declaration of war?
All USN war games pre-war assumed a big build up and movement west across the pacific. So you are suggesting a repeat of moving forward the Pacific fleet from California to Hawaii but all the west to the Philippines?
Michael
The greater problem for the IJN was that they did not invest in pilot training. They could not replace their early war losses. So unless you change this, more and bigger carriers will just be targets.