Britain's expected route to Japan differed from an American advance across the Pacific. The Royal Navy planned around its chain of bases leading to Singapore, then north through the South China Sea, rather than treating San Francisco and the Panama Canal as natural starting points. British carrier doctrine emphasized repeated squadron- and flight-sized strikes, although a carrier could still launch a concentrated alpha strike when required. Geography, basing, and the expected rhythm of enemy land-based air attacks helped make sustained belt-fed pom-pom fire attractive.
Notable Point · 0:48-3:59
Singapore shapes Britain's different route to war with Japan
British forces would advance through imperial bases toward Singapore and the South China Sea, producing different carrier and air-defense assumptions from a U.S. trans-Pacific campaign.