[Torplexed]

I'm not trying to disparage the courage of USN submariners in any way. Just trying to point how the Pacific submarine war was in many respects so vastly different from the one taking place at the same time on the other side of the globe. Japan had a great assest in it's naval strike aircraft like the Bettys and flying boats, but like with their submarines never really thought before the war of their use other than striking or stalking the enemy battlefleet. The British were guilty of the same error for a few years too in neglecting Coastal Command in favor of Bomber Command. The British had time to catch on to how valuable planes were as sub killers or supressors. The Japanese did too eventually, but by then it was too late.

I think the salient feature in the Pacific is that unlike the Germans and British in World War One, the Americans had never prosecuted an submarine campaign before, and the Japanese had never had to defend against one. Which probably explains Clair Blair's statement in Silent Victory that the Pacific submarine war really didn't start to roll until 1944.