The broad inventory available to the belligerents differed sharply from the ships that actually took part at Midway. Japan had carriers and capital ships elsewhere, while Hosho remained with the distant battleship force and two Kongos supported the invasion group. Its seventeen oilers were spread across several missions, compared with four supporting American operations, revealing the fuel burden created by Japan's strategic dispersal. The participating force totaled sixty-three surface ships and twenty-nine submarines, but those headline figures still concealed which vessels could help the carrier battle. Operational reach and logistical assignment therefore belong in the order of battle rather than in the background.
Notable Point · 9:28-18:07
Separate available naval strength from the fleet at Midway
A comparison of theoretical naval strength and ships actually committed shows how much of each side's force was outside the battle.