US Navy in 1944

The US Navy in 1944 was powerful enough to defeat Japan. It had made possible the successful island-hopping campaign in the Pacific Theater. It had increased its size about 20 times from what it used to be in December 1941, when the United States of America entered World War II right after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. By then, the aircraft carrier had become more important as an strategic warship than the battleship as it could project more fire power to a much longer range than the latter, thanks to its squadrons of bombers and fighter aircraft it carried on its deck and in the storage area. As a result, the number of carriers had multiplied in relation to the number of battleship. In the Atlantic, in order to fight against the German U-Boats, a large number of destroyers had been built and deployed by the USA's shipbuilding industry and Navy.

By 1944, the American navy's aircraft carriers had clearly established the Allied air superiority in the skies over the Pacific and Atlantic, as it was essential to victory and for survival of the a fleet. By then, the Essex-class had added 24 new carriers to the already in service Yorktown-class, which included the USS Enterprise (CV-6). The Essex could carry up to 90 aircraft onboard, including two new lethal fighters: the F6F Hellcat and the F4F Corsair, which were able to defeat the Japanese A6M Zero. Not only the number of surface warships had increased but also the number of submarines, with the introduction of the Balao-class and the Tench-class, with a about 60 additional submarines in the Pacific. Meanwhile, the battleship was relegated to provide fire support to landing Allied forces on the Pacific islands.

With the US Navy 3rd and 7th fleet having been beefed up, the US Navy and US Marine Corps were able to obtain major historical victory over the Japanese in the Pacific Theater of Operation. They successfully captured Guam, Tinian, and Saipan, which belonged to the Mariana groups of islands, and to thoroughly beat the Imperial Japanese fleet at the Battle of the Philippine Sea in June 1944. In October, the TF-38 and TF-77, of the 3rd and 7th Fleet respectively, defeated the Japanese combined fleet, which lost 4 carriers, 3 battleship and 10 cruisers.

Below, the USS Yorktown (CV-10) in October 1944. It had just been commissioned to replace the Yorktown CV-5, which had been sunk during the Battle of Midway.