Here the carrier analysis becomes a short lesson in historical method. A navy's defeat does not by itself prove that every doctrine or ship it produced was defective. Starting with a preferred idea and selecting only supporting evidence distorts the lesson. The better method is to read the record in context, trace its continuity, and then decide what the history supports. Applied to Shokaku, this separates the carrier's fitness for Japanese requirements from the eventual outcome of the Pacific War.
Notable Point · 3:19-5:50
A context-first method for judging naval doctrine
Japan's eventual defeat does not make every part of its naval doctrine defective; the historical record has to be read in context.