Shokaku scarcity and the Yamato resource tradeoff

Shokaku and Zuikaku represented Japan's preferred fleet carrier, but only two were built while the Yamato program absorbed resources. The next carriers discussed were passenger-liner conversions capable of only 25 knots, treated here as emergency substitutes. Japanese battleship policy assumed the United States would seek battle in a Mahanian fashion and Britain would impose a Corbett-style blockade. Those expectations simplified both opponents: British strike carriers could attack ships in harbor, and the Americans could also blockade after winning sea control. Yamato was intended to make a British blockade require so much fleet strength that Britain could not sustain it. A similar deterrent effect against America would have required Japan to reveal more of the battleships' capabilities than it did. The carrier program consequently lacked depth even though Shokaku closely matched its operational requirements.