It would have changed things significantly. They would not have had enough steel to build the requisite surface ships to escort these carriers, plus the carriers themselves, while at the same time building the numbers of tanks and SP guns and other hardware they would need on land.

A fleet of that size would have made a significant dent in the available manpower available to the army, at a time when the army was already significantly short.

Some of you that are more knowledgeable. How many destroyers do you think they would need just for escort of these ships? Five per carrier, plus allowances for repair and maintenance-maybe 40-42? Plus more large-gunned ships than they already had. Plus additional yard workers.

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Best Regards,
JW