Its hard trying to find accurate comparisons for fleet sizes during WW2. Data for the British and other European navies generally start in 1939, but the American and Japanese navies start from the end of 1941. So we have a gap of two years or more were the British are building/losing a lot of ships before America and Japan join the war.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Olefin
2) Actually the US Navy in some ways was deficient to the IJN at the start of the war - the IJN actually had more carriers in commission - 6 fleet carriers and 4 light fleet carriers versus the US with 7 fleet carriers and 1 escort carrier - and they actually added several light and escort carriers early in the war and they basically were at parity with the USN in numbers of cruisers (but Japanese light cruisers were inferior to US ones in terms of guns and size).
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The Japanese had more carriers than the US and Britain in 1941.
At the time of Pearl Harbour estimated US, British and Japanese naval strengths in the Atlantic and Pacific were...
Atlantic Ocean
Britain
12x Battleships (including 1 Battlecruiser)
8x Aircraft Carriers (including 2 Escort Carriers)
12x Heavy Cruisers
28x Light Cruisers
235x Destroyers (including Escorts)
80x Submarines
US
6x Battleships (excluding North Carolina and Washington on trials)
4x Aircraft Carriers (excluding Hornet on trials)
5x Heavy Cruisers
8x Light Cruisers
92x Destroyers (including Escorts)
58x Submarines
Pacific Ocean
Britain
4x Battleships (including 1 Battlecruiser)
1x Aircraft Carrier
4x Heavy Cruiser
10x Light Cruiser
13x Destroyers (including Escorts)
Unknown Submarines
US
9x Battleships
3x Aircraft Carriers)
13x Heavy Cruisers
11x Light Cruisers
80x Destroyers
53x Submarines
Japan
10x Battleships
9x Aircraft Carriers
18x Heavy Cruisers
17x Light Cruisers
103x Destroyers
74x Submarines
Plus Dutch (3x Light Cruisers, 7x Destroyers and 15 Submarines)
On a side note excluding the 2 Japanese Yamato Class battleship the broadside weight of a full salvo from American battleship guns from 1939-45 was superior to all other battleships during WW2 including the big British Nelson Class battleships. That's why the Japanese went for them at Pearl Harbour. If the British had built the Lion Class with upgraded 16inch guns they might have closed the gap with the American battleships.
I'm still on the fence with the German Z-Plan. Some good designs but also some unrealistic ones, and the Germans had no aircraft carrier experience.