Pacific Fleet Restructuring
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After the turn of the year, paper bombs sent from Japan exploded. In response, the political landscape in the United States was in extreme turmoil. Unexpected new facts kept coming to light one after another.
President Roosevelt was provoking Japan. Not only the citizens but even members of both the Congress and the Senate were unaware. The Hull Note was the irrefutable evidence of this.
Moreover, President Roosevelt was deceiving the nation. He had been hiding the fact that the entire Pacific Fleet had been sunk in the Battle of the Marshall Islands.
The paper bombs from Japan were like a bolt from the blue for President Roosevelt, catching him completely off guard. Inconvenient truths that should have been kept hidden were exposed to the public. As a result, Republican lawmakers used this as a basis to criticize President Roosevelt. In Congress, he was constantly on the defensive and even faced criticism from his supposed allies in the Democratic Party.
However, a new disaster was about to befall President Roosevelt. On February 14, a month and a half from now, Japan announced its intention to advance its military forces to Hawaii and they had requested the US government to complete the evacuation of the civilian population living there by that time.
Setting aside the evacuation of the civilian population, President Roosevelt had no choice but to prepare for war. If he were to abandon Hawaii and retreat the defense line, many citizens would likely believe that the next battleground would be the West Coast, leading to inevitable domestic chaos. This would undoubtedly intensify the criticism against President Roosevelt.
Nevertheless, there was hope. They still had the strength to fight. Despite losing the Pacific Fleet, the Atlantic Fleet remained intact. Rebranded as the new Pacific Fleet, they would confront the Japanese Combined Fleet. Their combat power would be at least equal to that of the old Pacific Fleet, if not greater. Therefore, President Roosevelt ordered the top brass of the US Navy to ensure the absolute defense of Hawaii.
On the other hand, the US Navy had no objections to President Roosevelt's policy. If there was a chance to avenge their fallen comrades, they couldn't let it slip by. There was no place on Earth for a navy that accepted defeat without a fight, except for a certain country facing the Mediterranean. In order to achieve victory against a formidable foe, the top brass of the US Navy made a bold decision. They decided to redeploy all battleships except for the Arkansas to the Pacific.
Among these battleships, there were new types not seen in the old Pacific Fleet. The first of the newly built battleships started after the disarmament treaty was the Washington, equipped with 16-inch (40 cm) guns, along with the North Carolina. The main guns they carried were different from those of the old battleships, even though they were also 16-inch guns in that they could fire superheavy rounds. These shells weighed over 20% more than the traditional 16-inch shells. Compared to the Nagato and Nelson-class battleships with similar caliber, its offensive power is one or two orders of magnitude greater.
Furthermore, the surviving Colorado from the Pacific Fleet joined them. The Colorado was also a powerful battleship armed with 16-inch guns. Regardless of the class, they could engage in battles against Japanese battleships on equal terms.
The New Mexico, Mississippi, and Idaho were sister ships, each carrying twelve 14-inch (36 cm) guns. While slightly smaller than the 16-inch guns, the 14-inch shells fired from their long barrels had a destructive power that outclassed the Ise-class and Fusō-class battleships, their rivals.
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Cash-Loaded Fleet
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