Bruships 135: Japan again... Can I get through 12 books this time

Most planned replacements need to enter service; submarine numbers and the wider funding gap are more pressing than another class upgrade.

Britain would hold the strongest carrier position, while Germany and the other Axis powers would be much less prepared than in 1939.

Probably not much more without redesign, because ammunition supply, maintenance, blast effects, and superstructure space constrain the layout.

No; Incomparable was Fisher's personal concept, while official British design work continued along other lines.

They understood it, but submarines still had to rise toward periscope depth to attack, limiting the protection the layer offered.

Japan gains new opening-strike options, especially at Pearl Harbor, but the development would not remain invisible to Britain and other observers.

Not more battlefield power; it needed far greater political influence within the Egyptian military and a viable postwar settlement.

Britain could field 9.2-inch Hawkins successors and other large projects before limits were fixed, producing a very different treaty settlement.

Canada gains a major two-ocean fleet, Australia and Britain probably expand too, and imperial cruiser tonnage becomes large enough to reshape treaty negotiations.

Probably a new foreign design, with Britain the most likely supplier because Japanese purchasing had made British yards an influential regional benchmark.

Fit the new turrets and modernize her machinery so she can serve as a heavy naval gunfire-support ship.

He did not miss it entirely; Britain knew of the ships but, with limited yard access, estimated their guns at about 17 inches.

They would lose range but gain volume of fire, so most of their historical battles would change little.

Six Lion-class battleships and six Malta-sized carriers, because they could dominate both the German and Italian surface fleets.

Very likely in real terms, because flat funding, inflation, and operating demands can stop construction even without a formal budget cut.

No; it carries too few aircraft to justify the expensive systems and support infrastructure required for carrier operations.

They would probably bring a full Admiral class as well and make Britain insist on retaining a battle fleet of at least twenty capital ships.

It depended on the mission; Ark Royal's Skua-and-Swordfish group made sense for strike operations but left weak air defence.

No; the ships would change their capabilities after entry, but not the political reasons Brazil, Chile, and Argentina initially remained neutral.

Britain would probably combine an intermediate rapid-firing gun with 16-inch battleship weapons, while the United States would likely choose 8-inch and 16-inch guns.

The major Pacific carrier battles largely disappear, the Royal Navy gains the defining early victory, and Allied command priorities shift.

Only sufficiently advanced hulls are realistic candidates; Amagi and the Admirals may qualify, but the G3s do not.

Probably yes, because their foreign responses and future successors would require larger docks and support facilities.

No; it was comparable, but Dreadnought's machinery and internal changes make her break at least as important.

The Allies gain sixteen light fleet carriers around 1941, and Britain is likely pushed to sustain its own carrier construction.

Not necessarily; radar-directed night air attacks and a controlled surface ambush could inflict the decisive losses without trading the whole fleet.

Ball games, food competitions, alcohol-centered social activity, and traditional ceremonies such as crossing the equator all formed part of shipboard life.

Constitution should win on weight of ship, but Cochrane's ability to create unusual tactical opportunities makes the outcome uncertain.

Japanese and Russian would be especially valuable, followed by French, Italian, and Portuguese for access to additional national sources.

Rulers may focus earlier on Ireland and island consolidation, while later European wars demand longer-ranged British aircraft.

Yes; Germany would need an 11-inch ship closer to Scharnhorst in order to fight the new cruiser standard.

As fleet carriers they would be uneconomic, but bare hulls could become large helicopter assault ships.

Start with Mark Stille's accessible fleet survey, then use Kaigun and two directories for strategy, institutions, and individual careers.

Hitler; Napoleon at least recognized the main requirements and difficulties, even though he did not fully solve them.

Possibly, but a faster and higher drop would likely require parachute retardation plus a dependable disconnect mechanism.

He is likely more aggressive and more willing to launch a night strike, knowing Saratoga can provide a dawn follow-up.

It would disrupt Japanese orientation and formation, but it could also delay American visual detection of the raid.

As major Italian fast battleships and possibly the design breakpoint between First World War battle lines and later fast battleships.

It gains a capable long-range radar-directed fighter, although British production would likely make the aircraft heavier and more powerful.

Strategic bombing reaches farther and hits harder, with the main payoff coming through earlier infrastructure damage rather than an instant victory.

They could be useful, but only if the type also serves elsewhere in the fleet and does not create a unique support burden.

Vian fits the daring tactical role, Cunningham the senior fleet command, and King offers an institutional parallel with John Jervis.

Build an additional pair derived from the New York class rather than trading away existing ships.

Royal Navy control helps, but accelerating reliable high-power engine development would make the largest difference to aircraft capability.

Build faster reliable small craft and develop two generations of much more capable naval aircraft before the war.

Any major European navy could do so; Spain's limited funding left it far below first-rank fleet strength.

They were using the strongest available combination of forces; air-sea coordination works when it reaches the right place at the right time.

A later and much more ambitious Dreadnought using advanced boilers, superfiring triple turrets, heavy guns, and battlecruiser speed.

Possibly, if the United States had refused to de-escalate. Britain opposed Confederate slavery yet could still be forced to defend its rights and prestige.

Spain was not so much disadvantaged as ignored, despite owning dreadnoughts and retaining an empire.

A declaration made only for Britain was unlikely. Worsening conflict with Germany and Italy could still bring the United States into the war.

Trace an everyday phone through raw materials, components, assembly, and sale; every stage depends on international movement and therefore trade.

The concern had a real basis, but the most dramatic language also helped justify funding new American cruisers.

Strategic mobility and supply resilience improve, but only at immense cost and with routes dependent on foreign political agreements.

The modular work was normal for Britain; the expensive mistake was delaying construction so much that two ships cost roughly as much as three and a half.

Enough to understand their power, because the British and American shipbuilding industries shared personnel and information extensively.

Warships followed whaling activity into polar waters, using fires and covered spaces to keep crews functioning.

The US Navy, because Britain's ships fit a global fleet more readily than American ships fit British strategy and carrier practice.

They are closely matched: N3 has heavier armor and shells, South Dakota has more guns, and the first effective hits likely decide the action.

Britain is less likely to enter the war because Germany no longer presents the direct naval threat that supported intervention.

It could pull Japan to Britain's side after France falls and bring Japanese naval aviation into the Mediterranean campaign.

A vivid hostile quote should be weighed against broader evidence about integration, political institutions, and how representative the speaker was.

It had too few modern ships for a strategy that depended on deterrence and rapid reinforcement, partly because construction had been paused.

Comparing No. 303 Squadron with Dowding and British fighter commanders complicates a simple ethnic explanation for bureaucratic hostility.

The original case was defensible, but once completion slipped, the resources would have been better used on the final two Iowa-class battleships.

It would look more like the First World War because armies would lack fast, long-range aerial fire support and interdiction.

G3s would likely serve in the Indian Ocean, while N3s would anchor the Mediterranean or Home Fleet.

His later conduct toward Truman and higher command, together with deeper scholarship on the Pacific war, made the heroic image harder to sustain.

Continuous European trade could remove the need for Perry's expedition and give United States-Japan relations a very different beginning.

They would improve French presence and operational organization, especially in the Mediterranean, but would not transform the war.

About 33 to 34 knots with lighter protection, or roughly 28 knots if the designer prioritizes substantially more armour.

Probably the total destruction of the US Navy, and even that was unlikely to work because America was more likely to mobilize than negotiate.

No; the proposals were largely German-led and outweighed by Portugal's value as a long-standing British ally.

Only with the American commanders' knowledge and agreement; using an allied squadron as unwitting bait would be both unworkable and politically explosive.

Heroes and Leaders of World War II is recommended for detailed career histories and command context.

Britain gains a distinctive common silhouette across major ships and may use the layout to make the treaty battleships slightly faster.

More escorts would be useful, but a practical increase probably waits for Constellation-class frigates to enter service.

The assumptions conflict: Allied access to fuel reduces Japan's motive for Pearl Harbor and may instead draw the United States into the European war.

No; the latest Burke flight remains the benchmark because of US fleet scale and global presence, despite the Type 45's strengths.

The Imperial Japanese Navy reference volume helps readers identify commands, officeholders, captains, and institutional gaps.

The Royal Navy could remain the second strongest fleet and give the United States a much more capable burden-sharing ally.

Evans and Peattie's Kaigun is presented as the core narrative synthesis, supported by specialist reference works.

A sample passage shows how the book connects aircraft performance, design compromises, Chinese combat experience, and carrier doctrine.

The Imperial Japanese Navy sized recruitment only after ships were approved, despite needing ten years for a lieutenant and twenty for a commander.

No; the infrastructure was costly, but competition among underemployed yards made the ships unusually good value.

A continuing qualitative race in small recurring batches, with Britain and America building roughly twice Japan's rate.

A highly automated ship with a reduced crew concentrated in an armored, self-sustaining pod that could detach after catastrophic damage.

No; the designs served different roles, and fleet numbers and operating pairs matter as much as a one-on-one comparison.

Because peacetime procurement used small evolutionary batches, while large repeated orders depended on an approaching war.

France dominated much of the Napoleonic Wars, so later weaknesses require attention to the post-Napoleon III settlement and force organization.

A concise Imperial Japanese Navy survey gives newcomers a coherent foundation before they move into denser specialist works.

Stille's cruiser chapter links the 5,500-ton destroyer flagships to foreign scout cruisers, treaty ceilings, and the Mogami and Tone classes.

Cruisers gain more guns, and the threshold creates powerful incentives to build sub-12,000-ton carriers such as enlarged Hermes derivatives.

As convoy escorts and bombardment ships, especially in the Mediterranean, rather than as primary fast battle-fleet units.

The requirement was unusually specialized; only continuous low-rate Collins evolution could have kept a bespoke long-range SSK affordable.

The carriers were supposed to scout, screen, and prepare the battlefield so the bombardment force could approach with information.

Loaded wording puts officials and engineers on the defensive, while respectful neutral questions make candid, detailed answers more likely.

No; larger decks would not remove the helicopter's range, size, support, and political procurement disadvantages.

The Battle of Lemnos, although Georgios Averof's performance ultimately made the action much more one-sided than it first appeared.

The announced essay challenge follows one canceled capital ship or carrier conversion through construction, treaty survival, and wartime service.