Comments by "Steve Valley" (@stevevalley7835) on "Pelayo - Guide 420" video.

  1. @joshthomasmoorenew well, would that violate the orders from General Marshall that the Japanese commit the first "overt act"? Apparently, the Japanese force was between 200 and 275 miles from Hawaii, so a round trip of 400 to 550 miles. A P-36 has a range of about 600 miles. A P-40 has a range of about 700 miles. Fly out to the Japanese force, figure 20 minutes of full throttle engagement, and the survivors would probably run out of gas before they got back to Hawaii. And they would be escorting horizontal bombers, primarily B-18s. Can't hit a ship worth a lick with horizontal bombers, unless they come down to low altitude. If Mitchell had tried that, probably a lot of brave Americans would have died, for little damage to the Japanese fleet. That being said, with surprise lost, the Japanese could have turned around, and headed for home. That sets up the nightmare scenario of an intact US fleet, and enormous pressure on the President to send the fleet to reinforce the Philippines, with Japanese subs picking them off, all the way.
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