Which real aircraft would each panelist take to Hawaii on 7 December 1941 to fight the Japanese Navy?
Short answerThe choices include strike fighters, a B-52, and an AC-130J, with disagreement over which could disable the Japanese ships with the weapons available.
NotesThe premise allows a real fixed-wing aircraft from any period up to the present, with unlimited fuel and spare parts. Choices include a Buccaneer, Tornado GR4, Strike Eagle, F-14D, B-52, and AC-130J. The B-52 proposal emphasizes its weapons load, while the AC-130J proposal relies on gunfire setting off Japanese fuel systems and exposed torpedoes. That gunship argument is challenged on ammunition capacity and the penetration of its 105 mm gun. Missile guidance is another disputed constraint: one objection invokes the absence of supporting infrastructure, followed by a reminder that an anti-shipping Tomahawk can guide itself. The exchange ends without agreement on a single aircraft, with rearming offered in defense of the Buccaneer.