US Navy in World War II

In 1941 the US Navy had 17 battleships - of which eight would be knocked out on the first day of the war - four aircraft carriers, and about 340,000 men including reservists.

Pearl Harbor so weakened it that it was unable to prevent the Japanese capture of the Philippines and a vast sweep of Pacific islands. By 1945 it was the strongest navy the world had ever seen, with nearly 100 carriers, 41,000...