Wakatake's range would be adequate if Japan waited for an opponent to approach within roughly 1,000 nautical miles. An attrition strategy required attacks earlier in the enemy's advance, before it reached the area of the decisive engagement. That created a stronger requirement for distant operations than this small destroyer could readily meet. The criticism treats Wakatake as a well-built ship shaped by assumptions that had not caught up with the intended strategy. Restrictions on capital ships still left room to develop more capable destroyers.
Notable Point · 20:38-22:30
Could Wakatake reach a distant attrition fight?
The small Wakatake design is tested against a strategy that expected attacks before an enemy fleet reached Japanese waters.