Pre-Radar Aircraft Detection

@kaleu

Makes sense.

I think they had enough men, but was short of trannies, so I voted for more shipping

ME 262

good points you raised Epiphany , what comes to my mind thinking about it is,  “Unternehmen Greif” 1944 BOTB.
The plan was causing confusion in the rear of the Allied lines and to force the Enemy to give out wrong Orders. And that was almost exactly what happend. It was getting that far that American Soldiers distrusted their own men and in some cases even killed own people in the confusions.

Imaging small bombing raids combiend with dropped off Japanese soldiers causing confusions like that on several points in the U.S.
Like you said:
@Epiphany:

From a mere terror standpoint, the I-400 might have worked to make American’s a little more frightened and on edge.  Japanese citizens certainly weren’t thrilled when Doolittle hit Tokyo.  It isn’t always the amount of physical damage you cause; psychology can play a vital factor in war too.  America felt invincible having not really tasted the war.  Our reaction to being hit at Pearl would not have been the same to the Japanese knocking down the Empire State Building or the hitting the White House.  Imagine those happening immediately after the Doolittle Raid.

I agree with Kurt that if the Japanese had specifically targeted things they knew they could destroy or that would seriously disrupt the war effort; such as bombing ball bearing factories or factories that produce batteries.  If you can hit the right targets, suddenly you have real disruption.  The I-400 could have afforded Japan some small measure of viable capability.  Small in the sense that it wouldn’t win the war, but I think it would have definitely been worth the investment for the capability alone.

A war brought to the doorsteps of America would be a Horroable thing…Pearl Harbor was still a little bit to far away…

These guys had guts!

Also, imagine being on the flight deck when you fired those things off.  Say good buy to sound.

With the Russian design, you would also have to be careful not to fire the guns pointed over the flight deck, or you’d blast away the deck with just the fireballs.  :-D

aequitas et veritas wrote:

As you can clearly read, I wrote that timeover will not response to this as a member.

You are right. And that merely reinforces my theory. After eight straight years of checking this thread, awaiting my response, he finally grew disillusioned and disappointed. So much so that he canceled his membership to this forum. :(

Now, one could reasonably ask, “Why would he have been awaiting my response for eight straight years when I haven’t even been here that long?” Well you see, on some level he sensed that I should be here, and that I’d be showing up here sooner or later. He evidently felt that “sooner” was more likely than “later,” so that I could respond to his thread. Which, let the record reflect, I did. Eventually. Better late than never, right? :)

This topic will submerge like a Tanker hit by a German Submarine.

Ah, but like a Type XXI U-boat, this topic emerged after having been submerged eight straight years! :o Maybe it will submerge again, only to surface in another eight years. :D