The Philippine Sea fleet shows the scale of destroyer demand

The Philippine Sea example gives the American force sixty-eight destroyers. Its comparison lists seven fleet carriers, eight light carriers, seven battleships, eight heavy cruisers, thirteen light cruisers, and twenty-eight submarines. Destroyers thus approach the combined total of the other ships listed. The destroyer force included prewar designs as well as Fletchers. Sustaining that many ships forward depended on a larger pool, including ships in transit, under repair, or supporting other fleets and Atlantic escort duties. Even an availability estimate of two operational ships from every five must account for battle damage. Peacetime availability assumptions understate that wartime disruption.