Six fast US Navy oilers supported the six carriers emphasized in accounts of the early Pacific War. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor demonstrated a reach beyond the roughly 2,000-2,500 miles that Mercogliano describes as the American operating assumption. Six Japanese carriers travelled about 4,500 miles to launch their attack and then returned. Subsequent operations took Japanese carriers to the Indian Ocean, Coral Sea, and Midway within six months. British carriers also accumulated enormous distances, including voyages around Africa to reach the eastern Mediterranean. Such movements required replenishment bases or effective support at sea, as did the Falklands expedition along its 7,000-mile supply line.
Chapter · 18:40-24:06
Oilers made long-range carrier warfare possible
Japanese carrier mobility, early US Pacific operations, and the Falklands task force demonstrate how fuel determines a fleet's actual reach.