Good points Red Devil, as there is little doubt that outmoded pre-war doctrine hamstrung the submarine force. There was little in the way of innovative thinking, and what there was mostly due to increasingly younger skippers.
But in the command structure, the men who were trained in the inter-war period were entirely too cautious and rigid in their thinking. As is well known, peacetime exercises put the most emphasis on remaining undetected. Actually putting torpedoes on target was not as important.
In the war, the inertia resulting from this thinking took a long time to overcome. But once it was, and the torpedoes made right, effectiveness improved in spades. It's interesting to wonder how the war in the Pacific might have gone if the sub force, tactics and weapons that were employed in '44 had instead been available from the start.
How long might the war have lasted had boats been sent to the right areas with proper weaponry?
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