Want this question answered?
Submarines and Aircraft Carriers
In 1941, the Pacific Fleet was comprised of 3 aircraft carriers, 9 battleships, 12 heavy cruisers, 11 light cruisers, 80 destroyers, and 55 submarines.
Certainly the US aircraft carriers would have been damaged and might have been destroyed. The extra US airplanes might have caused more damage to the attacking Japanese. Even so, the Japanese plan was to make a "statement". The intent was to dissuade any US military operations in East Asia.It may have taken the US another 6 to 12 months to rebuild the carrier force. However, with that said, the US had every chance to win the war.
US Navy Aircraft Carriers normally operated US Navy aircraft flown by US Navy pilots; however sometimes during WW2 these aircraft carriers had US Army Air Force or US Marine Corps aircraft on-board to be flown-off by Army or Marine pilots. This was for ferrying operations. These aircraft would take off from the carriers but land on an airfield. Army pilots were not trained to land on carriers, neither were the Army aircraft equipped for carrier landings. US Marine pilots & Marine aircraft could operate from carriers if necessary, until they could be established at an airfield.
Even if you exclude the smaller aircraft carriers in World War 2, there were still many more than 5 or 6. The US Navy commissioned 23 aircraft carriers of the Essex class during the war, not to mention others in US service, and those used by the British and Japanese navies.
By end of 1941; when the US got involved; they had 3 out of it's 4 carriers which were all aircraft ones. Those ships were USS Lexington, USS Enterprise and USS Saratoga. The fourth carrier, USS Yorktown, had been detached from the Pacific Fleet for convoy service in the Atlantic Ocean.
Submarines and Aircraft Carriers
In 1941, the Pacific Fleet was comprised of 3 aircraft carriers, 9 battleships, 12 heavy cruisers, 11 light cruisers, 80 destroyers, and 55 submarines.
The war with Japan actually began in December 1941, when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7. No US aircraft carriers were in Pearl Harbor when the Japanese attacked. This was extremely lucky for the US, which had only six or seven carriers altogether, and only three in the Pacific. The Saratoga was in San Diego, California when the attack came, but soon sailed for Pearl Harbor and took part in the first great carrier battles.
None were necessary since the British Isles provided plentiful air bases. However, in the Mediterranean theater, US escort carriers (aka jeep carriers or CVE's) were used to support amphibious landings. These were small aircraft carriers capable of operating about 30 aircraft each, which left the larger US fleet carriers with 70-80 aircraft each available for the Pacific theater.
They are names of US aircraft carriers,
Northrop Grumman
jJapanese carrier borne aircraft attacted US naval and air bases on 7th December 1941.
American Aircraft Carriers are built by Newport News Shipbuilding, which is a subsidiary of Northrop Grumond.
Certainly the US aircraft carriers would have been damaged and might have been destroyed. The extra US airplanes might have caused more damage to the attacking Japanese. Even so, the Japanese plan was to make a "statement". The intent was to dissuade any US military operations in East Asia.It may have taken the US another 6 to 12 months to rebuild the carrier force. However, with that said, the US had every chance to win the war.
Aircraft of the Japanese Navy bombed the US Navy base at Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941.
US Navy Aircraft Carriers normally operated US Navy aircraft flown by US Navy pilots; however sometimes during WW2 these aircraft carriers had US Army Air Force or US Marine Corps aircraft on-board to be flown-off by Army or Marine pilots. This was for ferrying operations. These aircraft would take off from the carriers but land on an airfield. Army pilots were not trained to land on carriers, neither were the Army aircraft equipped for carrier landings. US Marine pilots & Marine aircraft could operate from carriers if necessary, until they could be established at an airfield.