The closing counterfactual assumes that additional Japanese light carriers would not reverse the Pacific War and asks how Britain and the United States might react if Japan began laying down a series of sub-20,000-ton carriers immediately after leaving the treaty system in 1937. Japan had underused yard and dry-dock capacity suitable for such ships even if it could not mass-produce the largest fleet carriers. An early program would also expose the mismatch between many decks and an aircrew system that trained a small elite. Operating the ships would require a mass pipeline willing to graduate competent pilots and maintainers rather than accept only near-perfect candidates, making training reform as important as hull production.
Notable Point · 39:59-42:14
What if Japan began mass light-carrier construction in 1937?
An earlier light-carrier program could have used underemployed yards and forced Japan to confront its inadequate mass-training system before war.