GunGeek,
"so let's just declare war on he worlds largest economy with the 2nd largest Navy.."
I thought that we had the largest Navy at the time. If we were # 2, who had the largest ?
Myron
I'm guessing Great Britain.
Interesting question. Differing answers.
Quotes, take your pick:
“The Royal Navy, still the largest in the world in September 1939”
“The Imperial Japanese Navy in World War II, at the beginning of the Pacific War in December 1941, was the third most powerful navy in the world.”
“The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) at the outset of World War II in the Pacific was the most powerful navy in the world.”
Britain and the US had to fight a two ocean war, so Japan started with the largest navy in the Pacific. They had ten carriers and we had three. They had ten battleships and we had nine before Pearl Harbor. That all changed at Midway.
As the war progressed, the balance between the Pacific and Atlantic fleets shifted back and forth, but we always had the big dogs in the Pacific.
“By war's end in 1945, the United States Navy had added nearly 1,200 major combatant ships, including 27 aircraft carriers and 8 battleships, and had over 70% of the world's total numbers and total tonnage of naval vessels of 1,000 tons or greater.”
