Naval War with Japan

🔗============================ US Naval War with Japan Hub ==========================🔗
Subpages:    US Submarine Force Third & Fifth Fleets
Other Links 1941–42:   Pearl Harbor Netherlands Indies Lost Coral Sea Midway
1942–43:   Guadalcanal Naval War New Georgia Naval War Bougainville Naval War
1944–45:   Mariana Naval War Leyte Gulf Philippines Naval War Okinawa Naval War

USS Arizona, Pearl Harbor

WWII Hub

WWII Japan

Pearl Harbor, attacked by the Japanese on December 7, 1941, was headquarters of the US Navy's massive Pacific Fleet. The much-smaller US Asiatic Fleet was based at Cavite near Manila in the Philippine Islands.

Japan in 1941 was a leading naval power, arguably third behind Great Britain and the United States. The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) was well-equipped and well-trained. However, as the war progressed and Japanese losses increased, Japan's relatively-small industrial base was unable to replace losses. By the time World War II entered its last phase, the IJN lay in ruins.

Links to Big Pigeon's WWII Japan > Naval War with Japan subpages:

US Submarine Force
Third & Fifth Fleets - the main battle component of the US Pacific Fleet.

My chronological report WWII Maritime Losses - The Japanese War summarizes naval combat in the War with Japan and includes a list of all major American ship losses.

The Imperial Japanese Navy suffered especially grevious losses during the following battles and campaigns:

June '42 - the Battle of Midway - major Japanese losses.
Aug '42 - Feb '43 - Solomon Islands sea battles associated with the land battle on Guadalcanal - major losses on both sides.
Jun '44 - Battle of the Philippine Sea - major Japanese losses.
Oct '44 - Battle of Leyte Gulf - major Japanese losses.

The United States also lost heavily during the naval war with Japan. However, the massive industrial base of the United States helped the US Navy grow dramatically during WWII despite its losses. Major losses were:

Dec '41 - Surprise attack on Pearl Harbor.
Feb-Mar '42 - Dutch East Indies sea battles resulting in loss of much of the Allies' Asiatic fleets.
Aug '42 - Feb '43 - Guadalcanal sea battles.
Mar-Jun '45 - Kamikaze attacks off Okinawa.

US Navy Growth During World War II

Slide Show - Selected Maps Showing World War II Maritime Conflict in the War With Japan

Sources for Big Pigeon's Naval War with Japan webpage:

The page header image, USS Arizona - Pearl Harbor, is found at en.wikipedia.org.
US Navy Growth During World War II is courtesy of https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/us-ship-force-levels.html.
The Naval War in the Pacific map is courtesy of combinedfleet.com.
The Naval Battles in the Solomon Sea area map is courtesy of frisian.com.
The Iron Bound Sound map is courtesy of imhedrick.com.
The Battle of Leyte Gulf map is found at en.wikipedia.org
http://combinedfleet.com/battles/ - This excellent treatment summarizes in more detail the WWII naval war with Japan.

Pottawattamie Area WWII Dead US Navy Deaths in the War with Japan appear on the following webpages (current 2024):

US Submarine Services - 12 dead
Third & Fifth Fleets - 18 dead
Pearl Harbor - 5 dead
The Dutch Indies Lost - 6 dead
The Philippines Lost - 3 dead
The Battle of the Coral Sea - 3 dead
The Solomons Naval War - 21 dead
Guadalcanal - 1 dead
Alaska - 1 dead
Palau Islands - 2 dead
Pacific Base Areas - 8 dead
Battle of Leyte Gulf - 3 dead
Philippines Naval War - 4 dead
Naval Battle of Okinawa - 4 dead

Total Pottawattamie Area WWII Dead Naval Dead in the War with Japan: 91 (as of 18 Dec 2023)