The loss of Amagi's battlecruiser hull in an earthquake leaves Japan converting the battleship Kaga. The preferred counterfactual alternative is to claim another battlecruiser hull for conversion or rebuild the battleship hull from near the keel into a faster form. The means of securing that replacement hull remain unresolved. Trials aboard Furious are offered as contemporary evidence that Japan already knew speed helped aircraft launch and operate with heavier loads. That evidence supplies the argument against accepting a slower hull without requiring knowledge of later carrier warfare.
Notable Point · 1:05:00-1:06:43
A faster replacement for the lost Amagi conversion
The proposed Japanese response is a faster hull, justified by contemporary trials linking ship speed to aircraft launch performance.