USA vs. Japan
rattler
Active member
Wrong IMHO what was said so far.
In ´39 the US navy was "relatively" weak (but nothing even faintly comparable to Rumania or Bulgaria, just check the Battleship and Cruiser numbers and capabilites below, but in 1941 at the war entry the (ordered earlier than ´39) ships that in ´39 were still under construction were ready to deploy.
1939 stats (US):
- http://www.geocities.com/scs028a/BattleForce.html
- http://www.geocities.com/scs028a/CruBatFor.html
- http://www.geocities.com/scs028a/DesBatFor.html (Part I Destroyers)
- http://www.geocities.com/scs028a/DesBatFor2.html (Part II Destroyers)
Rattler
In ´39 the US navy was "relatively" weak (but nothing even faintly comparable to Rumania or Bulgaria, just check the Battleship and Cruiser numbers and capabilites below, but in 1941 at the war entry the (ordered earlier than ´39) ships that in ´39 were still under construction were ready to deploy.
1939 stats (US):
- http://www.geocities.com/scs028a/BattleForce.html
- http://www.geocities.com/scs028a/CruBatFor.html
- http://www.geocities.com/scs028a/DesBatFor.html (Part I Destroyers)
- http://www.geocities.com/scs028a/DesBatFor2.html (Part II Destroyers)
Rattler
Clarification: I was refering to the Army in regards to Bulgaria.
rattler
Active member
A Can of Man
Je suis aware
Either way, when the American industrial machine kicked in, there was no way the Japanese could match it.
LeEnfield
Active member
Japan had been at war in China for years and was geared up for war, so at the start they had the upper hand. Japan had hoped the the US would seek terms quickly leaving them with the spoils. Thank goodness America is not like that, as many of the US factories were already on a war footing supplying arms for Britain then it was not such a job to rev these up for the benefit of America
bren122
Active member
The US army in 1939 was ranked behind that of Belgium at, from memory, 16th in the world in terms of size.
The US Navy was ranked 4th in the world, again from memory, as opposed to Japan at 5th in terms of tonnages. (although that might be the other way around) i think that there was almost parity of tonnages in the Pacific and that the American Atlantic Fleet put them over the top. if you take it in terms of carriers then America was 3rd and Japan 2nd in 1939; by 1941 Japan had taken the lead with losses to the RN and new construction for the IJN.
from memory the book i am trying to recall did not have a ranking for air forces; it did note that Japan had more modern types but many of these lacked self sealing fuel tanks and cockpit armour which proved significant disadvantages when the performance gap between Allied and Japanese air craft narrowed.
xxxx Days of War- A Day by Day Account of World War Two.
The US Navy was ranked 4th in the world, again from memory, as opposed to Japan at 5th in terms of tonnages. (although that might be the other way around) i think that there was almost parity of tonnages in the Pacific and that the American Atlantic Fleet put them over the top. if you take it in terms of carriers then America was 3rd and Japan 2nd in 1939; by 1941 Japan had taken the lead with losses to the RN and new construction for the IJN.
from memory the book i am trying to recall did not have a ranking for air forces; it did note that Japan had more modern types but many of these lacked self sealing fuel tanks and cockpit armour which proved significant disadvantages when the performance gap between Allied and Japanese air craft narrowed.
xxxx Days of War- A Day by Day Account of World War Two.
A Can of Man
Je suis aware
The USN was powerful enough to disrupt the flow of supplies from the Dutch East Indies to Japan... which was one of the main reasons why the Japanese took the fight to the Americans.
Titanium
Active member
Yeah, that would have their logic, being the USN no so inferior than IJN but closer in all terms, so the Japanese knowing that and to broaden the difference, just attacked Pearl Harbor how they did.
If IJN would had been much better and great than USN, they just had faced in normal combat, not by surprise.
If IJN would had been much better and great than USN, they just had faced in normal combat, not by surprise.
rattler
Active member
Let´s for a moment assume that I undetstand your sentence right (me European, not know much the English grammar), "surprise" is a key element in many ops, it is planned and trained for, and it is just plain good strat/tactics to make use of it.
Not implementing the element of surprise in your plans will have you judged hard by history,
Rattler
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Titanium
Active member
Yes, is a key element and so the IJN made the most of it getting some advantage over USN.
P.S.: I apologize for my english. :smile:
A Can of Man
Je suis aware
One of the key probelms with the Japanese were that their losses were not replaceable.
Their population was stretched to the limit.
The Americans sent their best back to train new people.
The Japanese just used their best until they died.
The Americans rescued their downed pilots (retain experience).
The Japanese flew their planes into ships etc. when hit.
In the end, the Japanese had lost things they could not replace. They lost control of the sea, all their land assets were cut off... it was over.
Their population was stretched to the limit.
The Americans sent their best back to train new people.
The Japanese just used their best until they died.
The Americans rescued their downed pilots (retain experience).
The Japanese flew their planes into ships etc. when hit.
In the end, the Japanese had lost things they could not replace. They lost control of the sea, all their land assets were cut off... it was over.