Fleet Problem IX committed an unusually large share of the US Navy's working battleships, destroyers, and modern combat aircraft to a Panama scenario. Saratoga slipped south with only one cruiser and successfully struck the canal. The raid demonstrated the reach and independence a carrier could give the scouting force. Lexington, defending, was judged sunk three times, which exposed the danger of using a carrier too close to the action. In Fleet Problem X, Lexington disabled Saratoga and Langley in a surprise attack. Her side then dominated because carrier aviation gave it superior information about the opposing fleet. Reconnaissance had become an operational advantage rather than a supporting detail.
Chapter · 32:52-35:22
Fleet Problems IX and X reveal carrier reach and vulnerability
Saratoga's Panama Canal raid and Lexington's surprise attack show how carriers could create decisive information advantages while remaining vulnerable themselves.