It was hard to predict after World War I that the US would become the global economic superpower it became.
Our rise from a second rate military power when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor to the world superheavyweight champion was about as an amazing rise of a world power as can be imagined.
At the opening, our weapons, tactics and personnel in the Pacific were easy picking for the Japanese. Devoting 70 percent of our military resources in the European theater, we were still able to stop the Japanese juggernaut at Midway .... just half a year after our debacle at Pearl Harbor. By August we gained a foothold on Guadalcanal and were basically able to beat the Japanese with similar resources, but superior logistics and ground tactics. A year after Pearl Harbor we had the initiative. 18 months after Pearl Harbor we started whippiing *** with Hellcat fighters, Essex Class carriers, fast battleships and lots of cruisers and destroyers... great personnel, weapons and leadership. We started dealing with the Japanese Navy and aircraft like Alabama Football does New Mexico State. Our subs almost wiped out their merchant cargo fleet. Sure the Iowa Class fast battleships were dwarfed by Japan's two Yamato class battleships' bulk and 18 inch guns..., but with superior speed, firing range and radar guided gunnery, I think the Iowa or Missouri would have beaten them one-on-one or two on two. Of course, they never had to take that risk since our carrier based aircraft sent the big warships to Davy Jones ' locker.
By the end of WWII, American GDP was half of the world's GDP.
Last edited: Jul 30, 2020