Using Second World War carrier lessons with care

American and Japanese naval aviation both emphasized destroying the enemy first, although Japan was especially driven by its inability to match American industrial capacity. Both concentrated on the offensive sword, while the United States devoted somewhat more attention to the defensive shield. That wartime setting could reward offensive concentration in ways that do not map cleanly onto every future contest. Designers must compare Second World War evidence with Cold War exercises and later operations, then decide which lessons fit their own strategic circumstances.