Q&A ยท 31:28-32:00

Dud weapons at Pearl Harbor preserve the US battle fleet

A compact Pearl Harbor counterfactual asks what follows if every Japanese bomb and torpedo fails to detonate.

Question

What if every bomb and torpedo used at Pearl Harbor failed to explode?

Short answer

The US battle fleet survives and proceeds from its prewar plans, while Japan faces the consequences of a failed surprise attack.

Notes

The US Navy would recognize an extraordinary escape and continue toward its prewar War Plan Orange assumptions with the battle fleet intact. Japan would face the opposite problem. A technically successful surprise attack that inflicted no explosive damage would create a profound operational and political crisis.