What could Japan do with a thousand Vietnam-era B-52s before Pearl Harbor?
Short answerThey could undertake long-range bombing missions, including an attack on Pearl Harbor without carriers, if Japan could fuel and operate them.
NotesA thousand Vietnam-era B-52s would give Japan a bombing force beyond anything available in 1941. Their range and operating altitude could let Japan attack Pearl Harbor without using carriers and strike many other distant targets. The quoted range and the rough Tokyo-to-Los Angeles comparison leave possible West Coast attacks uncertain, with the distance units corrected during the calculation. Fuel and the ability to operate the aircraft remain conditions of the scenario: without them, the bombers would be unusable. Replacing some ship movements with bomber missions would also change the allocation of fuel.