Kantai kessen seeks local superiority against a significant part of the enemy fleet and generally expects the decisive action close to Japan. The established interception sequence uses submarines, land- and carrier-based aircraft, cruiser-destroyer night attacks, and finally the battle fleet to wear down an approaching opponent. Against Britain, however, the first targets are dispersed cruisers withdrawing toward Singapore rather than an American battle line advancing from the central Pacific. Royal Navy hydrophones, ASDIC, institutional memory of First World War submarine losses, and routine zigzagging make long-range torpedo attrition harder. Hood, Repulse, Renown, and the King George V class also give Britain fast capital ships able to answer the Kongos, forcing Japanese planners to adapt a doctrine built around a different enemy.
Chapter · 54:01-1:01:05
Kantai kessen must adapt to the Royal Navy
Japan's interception-and-attrition sequence was designed around an approaching American fleet, but British cruisers, ASW practice, zigzagging, and fast capital ships change the target problem.