Advantage Japan: The Imperial Japanese Navy’s Superior High Seas Refueling Capability

The arrival of Japanese bombers and torpedo planes over Pearl Harbor on the morning of 7 December 1941 was a complete shock to Americans. This was not only because the two nations were at peace, but also because the Japanese naval striking force seemed to have possessed a near miraculous ability to support and supply its carriers on the long journey to and from the Japanese home islands into the heart of America’s Pacific defenses. It was Japanese mastery of the logistical challenges as much as their audacity that produced the strategic surprise. The ability to keep task forces at sea refueled, regardless of weather, was a capability of which the United States Navy could only dream as the war in the Pacific began. In reality, the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN), in the war’s early years, maintained a near monopoly on large-scale, underway refueling, contributing to its “heady” early success over its American and British naval opponents.