On the other side of the Pond... (May 1942)

Admiral Chester Nimitz

CINCPAC, Pearl Harbor

27th May, 1942

Just saw Yorktown pull into the drydock. She's fought hard in the Coral Sea. Fletcher reports the sinking of the Ryukaku and the Shokaku.That leaves the IJN with around four to five carriers. We lost the Lexington, but one for two is a pretty good trade. More importantly, we've learned that our flyboys are just as capable as the Japs, though their equipment is certainly better.

Well, I'm going to need Yorktown to fight even harder soon, hence all the emergency yard work. Intelligence tells me that they've decoded the order of battle for the Japanese attack on Midway. They'll have four fleet carriers, and I'm not willing to send Enterprise and Hornet off on two to one odds, Midway air cover or no. But if we can fight them on an even footing, like we did down in the Solomons, we might be able to push our war plans ahead much sooner than anticipated. Saratoga will be here soon, Wasp by year's end along with Essex. BuShips tells me that I'll get five to six Essex class carriers per year starting next year. Even assuming a one to one exchange rate, we'll run them out of carriers very soon, and as soon as we destroy their main strike forces, we can move to the next stage of Plan Orange and secure operating bases in the Western Pacific from which to begin our air and surface blockade of Japanese merchant shipping.

Till then we'll have to rely on our submarines to interdict that shipping. But despite Stark's order for unrestricted submarine warfare, we aren't sinking all that many Japanese merchant ships. ComSubPac claims that it's the torpedoes, and I'm inclined to believe him and his submariners over some desk-jockey in BuOrd. But if that's the case, then we're going to have to pick up the slack by expediting the destruction of the Japanese carriers. I don't want them getting one more ounce of oil or gram of rubber if there's anything I can do about it!