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Old 06-25-2011, 09:20 AM
dragoon500ly dragoon500ly is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by copeab View Post
Actually, things could have turned out quite differently had a single Japanese plane not suffered mechanical problems.

The floatplane that eventually first spotted the US forces was delayed a few hours because it needed repairs. Had it been launched on time, the Japanese could have gotten in a first strike well before the US.

Such are the things the fates of armies (and fleets) depend on.
Actually it wasn't the plane that needed repairs. While there is no official documents, there is a story that the Tone's catapult officer was fairly new to the job and that after launching one floatplane, had managed to damage the catapult.

Still...
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