Originally Posted by Seadog

If the carriers had been sunk, all of the remaining operations would have relocated to San Diego and the Islands abandoned. What was even more of a mistake by the Japanese, was to not take out the fuel farms and repair facilities. Policy at the time would have meant the same thing, Move everything to the mainland. That would mean that the ships sunk would have not been resurrected, and all actions against the Japanese would have much more distance to travel.