"The Hornet is still in the Atlantic. And this ship will not come to Hawaii. As you said, the Hornet is the last American aircraft carrier. If it were to be sunk, the reconstruction of the newly formed mobile force would become extremely difficult. For some time to come, the ship will continue to exist as a training carrier, nurturing rare breeds such as crew members, maintenance personnel, weapon specialists, and aircraft handling crew."
When Yamamoto recalled the US military's readiness, he received an assurance from Shiozawa.
The Two-Ocean Navy Act passed in 1940 in the United States planned the construction of battleships, aircraft carriers, cruisers, and destroyers on a scale far beyond the expectations of the Imperial Navy. These plans were not classified information; they were open information, and some commercial magazines even listed planned ship names. The Imperial Navy knew, for example, that twelve aircraft carriers had already been ordered. One of these carriers is an improved version of the Yorktown-class, in other words, the Hornet. However, the remaining eleven carriers are entirely new and are called the Essex-class, surpassing the scale of the Yorktown-class by far.
After analyzing the information obtained so far, the Imperial Navy concluded that the new class of eleven aircraft carriers, while not matching the defensive capabilities of the Yamato-class carriers, had comparable or even superior aircraft operational capabilities. If these carriers were to be converted into a fighting force, a force of tens of thousands of soldiers would be needed. However, most of the active-duty personnel who were supposed to be the core of the carrier crews had either died or become prisoners of war in the Battle of Wake Island. If, in addition, the loss of the Hornet was to occur, as Shiozawa stated, the reconstruction of the mobile fleet would be significantly delayed.
"Regarding American aircraft carriers, there is bad news. It seems that the United States Navy plans to convert some of the newly built cruisers into aircraft carriers. Presumably, this is a temporary measure until the Essex-class is mass-produced. However, since the base is a cruiser, it should be sufficiently fast and have decent defensive capabilities. And, probably typical of the United States, it won't be just one or two ships; they will likely build around ten ships in no time. Furthermore, there is additional bad news. The United States is planning to massively produce the Essex-class. Unfortunately, this is confirmed information. As a result, the total number of these carriers will exceed thirty. Moreover, they have started building armored carriers of the 45.000-ton class, far surpassing the Yamato-class carriers."
In response to Minister Hori's statement, Yamamoto's expression, which had been thoughtful, suddenly turned into one of deep concern.
"Do the Americans intend to build thirty new aircraft carriers, convert ten cruisers into carriers, and even start building 45.000-ton armored carriers?" he mumbled, to which Minister Hori added more information.
"The United States Navy's surface strike force has had to be drastically scaled back because of the priority given to building aircraft carriers. The planned construction of four 45.000-ton battleships was halted at four, and the construction of large battleships that were said to be over 60.000 tons was also canceled. Moreover, while it was originally planned to build six 30.000-ton large cruisers, essentially battlecruisers, they are only building two. In other words, the United States Navy is only building twelve of the large surface strike vessels that were supposed to be twenty-three. It seems that the lessons from the Battle of Wake Island have had quite an effect. We seem to have educated an opponent about the tremendous power of aircraft."
It is a common understanding among the upper echelons of the Imperial Navy that the US Navy will eventually realize the power of aircraft. However, the rapid expansion of aircraft carriers is beyond the expected scope. Nevertheless, Yamamoto, who quickly regained his composure, inquired about something that caught his attention in Minister Hori's remarks.
"The construction of the 45.000-ton carrier has just begun, so that is still acceptable. I would like to know about the progress of the Essex-class and the cruiser-converted carriers. Additionally, the construction status of Imperial Navy carriers to counter them."
In response to Yamamoto's question, Minister Hori exchanged glances with Shiozawa. It has been a long time since the authority to determine military strength was transferred from the Navy Ministry to the Navy General Staff.
"The first ship of the Essex-class is likely to be completed by the end of this year, or at the latest, the beginning of next year. The completion of the entire class is expected in the latter half of next year or later. Also, the first ship of the cruiser-converted carriers should be completed within a year at the earliest. As for our side, we are accelerating the construction of the Modified Yamato-class carriers under the Circle 4 Plan. Originally, these ships were supposed to be completed in the latter half of the 19th year or the first half of the 20th year of Shōwa, but we are prioritizing resources and personnel to advance this to the first half of the 19th year."
The modified Yamato-class carriers under the Circle 4 Plan consisted of four ships. On the other hand, the US was undertaking the construction of around 40 carriers of various sizes, including the bonus of 45.000-ton armored carriers. Furthermore, they were concurrently maintaining a fleet of over ten large surface strike vessels. The glaring disparity between the two sides made Yamamoto feel dizzy. However, Minister Hori provided a crucial piece of advice to him.
"Don't be deceived by the number of carriers under construction. Whether it's carriers or airplanes, they are operated by humans. And we have dealt a severe blow to the United States Navy in terms of personnel during the Battle of Wake Island. An organization ultimately consists of people and money. The Americans are no exception."
Yamamoto quickly understood Minister Hori's intended message. No matter how many ships are sunk, if the goal is to render the US Navy dysfunctional, it would be futile. Wealthy as they are, the Americans will continue to build high-performance ships and deploy them to the battlefield. However, the same cannot be said for personnel. It takes 10 years to train a lieutenant, who is considered a full-fledged officer, and 20 years to train a commander, who is in charge of a single combat unit. In plain terms, Minister Hori was not advocating sinking American ships but rather urging the killing of their soldiers. The Hawaii Operation, in essence, could be described as hunting American soldiers.
While emotionally challenging, Yamamoto understood that this was the correct approach.
YOU ARE READING
Aviation-Centric Combined Fleet
Historical Fiction「It is no longer the era of battleships. From now on, airplanes are the mainstay of the Navy.」 Which one is it? The doctrine of big ships and big guns or perhaps air power? The power struggle within the Navy, however, takes an unexpected turn. Due t...
