Q&A · 3:26:13-3:26:48

Oilers as the limit on American Pacific mobility

A short logistics answer identifies fleet oilers, rather than combat ships alone, as the constraint on American operational tempo in the Pacific.

Question

How would a much larger American civilian auxiliary and supply fleet change the Second World War?

Short answer

More oilers and supply ships would let American forces deploy and advance faster across the Pacific instead of carrying so much support across long distances from limited bases.

Notes

American trans-Pacific requirements differ from the British ability to stage slow oilers between a denser chain of bases and use faster vessels for the final link to the fleet. The United States had to move large quantities of fuel and stores across much longer unsupported distances. Expanding the auxiliary fleet therefore increases both the speed and scale at which combat forces can move.