Merely sending more P1Y aircraft would still leave them almost dry at the end of the route. A more dangerous alternative might have adapted larger medium bombers in the manner of the American Doolittle Raid. Greater payload and residual fuel could have produced much more destructive impacts on carrier decks. This remains a counterfactual design argument, but it clarifies that the plan's weakness lay in weapon effect as well as aircraft numbers.
Notable Point · 46:08-46:54
Heavier bombers and the payload alternative
A counterfactual comparison with the Doolittle Raid asks whether larger bombers could have delivered enough fuel and explosives to threaten Ulithi's carriers.