King appears as an officer determined to protect American interests and avoid admitting strategic weakness. Yet the United States could not conduct the required Atlantic and Pacific wars alone, just as Britain could not cover the Atlantic, Mediterranean, and Pacific at full strength. Acknowledging dependence was politically and institutionally difficult even when the operational arithmetic was clear. The resulting division of labor placed Britain in the lead in the Atlantic and Mediterranean and the United States in the Pacific, with close mutual support rather than complete naval self-sufficiency.
Notable Point · 31:06-33:03
Admiral King and the limits of a multi-ocean fleet
Admiral Ernest King's hostility to British dependence is set against the fact that neither the U.S. Navy nor Royal Navy could independently cover every major wartime theatre.