United States WAS
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"If you want to go anywhere in modern war, in the air, on the sea, on the land, you must have command of the air."
Admiral William Halsey

Despite being caught unprepared for war on 7 December 1941, the US Navy recovered to defeat Japan. At the time, Japan had the best fighting fleet in the war. With the battleships knocked out at Pearl Harbor, the US was forced to change tactics and quickly. The US transitioned over to an air based power (in the form of aircraft carriers) and submarines. America's industrial might quickly transitioned to a war footing, but it would take time for the US to build its fleet.

The backbone to the US fleet truly was its carriers. Despite losing quite a few carriers in the early battles, the construction of the Essex fleet carriers eventually gave the US sturdy platforms from which to launch thousands of aircraft by the end of the war. Indeed command of the air gave America's fleet the security to travel literally wherever it wanted in the Pacific.

The battleships, cruisers and destroyers formed the escort for the carrier fleet. America's battleships were less equipped with secondary armament than their foreign contemporaries, but contained massive anti-aircraft batteries. Cruisers were armored enough to fight, but lacked torpedoes that would allow them to destroy heavy units like battleships. The destroyers varied in quality, but performed well in anti-submarine, anti-air and anti-surface operations.

Its submarines were solid and destroyed Japanese merchant shipping once the defective early-war torpedoes were fixed. They even made notable contributions by destroying some of Japan's fleet units as well.

From the air, the US started with initially a small core of pilots. The program was quickly expanded and the pilots received solid aircraft. The Wildcat, though lacking in maneuverability compared to the Zero, had better armor and self sealing fuel tanks, thus making the plane more durable. It was replaced by its little big brother, the Hellcat. The Hellcat combined the survivability of the Wildcat with the maneuverability of the Zero.

Offensively, the US had mixed results. The Dauntless dive bomber delivered the devastating blow to the Japanese at Midway. The bomber continued to serve until replaced by the Helldiver. Pilots gave the Helldiver a mixed review compared to the Dauntless, but overall it was a successful airframe.

Torpedo bombers gave the US a challenge. The Devastator was the first US torpedo bomber but by the beginning of the war it was already outdated. Its replacement, the Avenger, had a terrible debut at Midway, but the airframe proved itself to be a lethal killing machine against the Imperial Japanese Navy.

While the Navy was hampered initially by an isolationist government, it redeemed itself after Pearl Harbor and led a difficult and aggressive campaign that ultimately led to victory in the Pacific.

Stat Table:

Fleet and Light Aircraft Carriers (CV/CVL):

Escort Carriers (CVE):

Battleships/Battlecruisers:

Heavy Cruisers:

Light Cruisers:

Destroyers:

Destroyer Escorts/Frigates/Corvettes/Escorts:

Submarines:

Torpedo Boats:

Auxiliaries:

Patrol Bombers:

Dive Bombers:

Torpedo Bombers:

Fighters:

(page updated by nrnstraswa, commandersam)
(stat table added by databaseMaster)

page revision: 48, last edited: 19 Mar 2021 07:51
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