Aviation-Centric Combined Fleet

Chapter 18 - Organization

Regarding the Pearl Harbor surprise attack plan that Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, the commander-in-chief of the 1st Mobile Fleet, had meticulously developed and was nonchalantly denied, he no longer harbored any attachment to the matter. Since the three peers he trusted more than anyone else unanimously criticized the plan, it seemed that the attack on Pearl Harbor had some flaws, as they claimed.

"Yamamoto wanted to carry out a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor with a total of eight carriers, including four Yamato and Amagi classes. However, as I mentioned earlier, I cannot approve of this. As the commander-in-chief of the 1st Mobile Fleet, you will face the Pacific Fleet head-on. For this purpose, you will be entrusted with twelve carriers."

Upon Shiozawa's words, Yamamoto felt a mix of joy at the magnitude of the forces and curiosity.

"What about the American air units in the Philippines? Our allied air units in Taiwan may lack land-based attack capabilities, especially in terms of fighters. Inevitably, we'll have to rely on the carrier-based aircraft, but is the force sufficient?"

The Philippines, being an American colony, deployed powerful air units, recognized as one of the major threats in the Southern Operation.

"As you say, we will assign the Kongō, Hiei, Haruna, and Kirishima to deal with the American air units in the Philippines. The force is not a problem, although it barely exceeds 200 planes when combined. However, it is still possible to launch simultaneous attacks on Iba and Clark Field."

Listening to Shiozawa's explanation, Yamamoto made a quick calculation in his mind. The four Kongō-class carriers could operate a total of 216 aircraft, assuming each carried 54. Leaving some Zero fighters for fleet air defense, they could still dispatch nearly 100 planes to attack Iba and Clark Field each. It might not be sufficient, but with effective coordination with the Taiwan land-based attack units, it should be possible to annihilate the American air units in the Philippines. Additionally, the Zero had a significantly larger bomb payload compared to the A5M, making it usable not only as a fighter but also as a bomber.

"I understand the approach to dealing with the American air units in the Philippines. The remaining issue is the force level to face the Pacific Fleet, but what are your thoughts on that? I don't have high expectations, considering that many ships will be deployed in the Southern Operation."

In response to Yamamoto's inquiry, Shiozawa instructed to burn the paper after memorizing its contents and handed it over. The paper contained the composition of the Combined Fleet at the beginning of the war.

1st Mobile Fleet (Pacific Fleet Interception Force)

- Force A

-- Amagi (24 × A6Ms, 36 × Type 1s)

-- Katsuragi (24 × A6Ms, 36 × Type 1s)

-- Kasagi (24 × A6Ms, 36 × Type 1s)

-- Aso (24 × A6Ms, 36 × Type 1s)

-- Heavy cruiser Aoba

-- Destroyers Hagikaze, Maikaze, Nowaki, Arashi, Kuroshio, Oyashio, Hayashio, Natsushio

- Force B

-- Ikoma (24 × A6Ms, 36 × Type 1s)

-- Tsukuba (24 × A6Ms, 36 × Type 1s)

-- Ibuki (24 × A6Ms, 36 × Type 1s)

-- Kurama (24 × A6Ms, 36 × Type 1s)