[Graham Boak]

I do feel that a read of books such as Kagero would be beneficial, to get a grasp on how the Japanese approached the war and the use of their fleet. The Japanese philosophy was to bring the opposing fleet to battle and defeat it. The reason their ships didn't do better is because of the technical and material superiority of the USN, as described above. The sheer size of the Pacific would rule against surface raiders and their reliance on supply ships.

One of the standard criticisms of the Japanese use of submarines was that they followed precisely the pattern suggested here: to concentrate against the USN warships. Most serious commentators suggest they would have done better used to intercept allied supply lines, along the lines of the U-boat campaign. However, there is much less kudos to be gained from sinking merchant ships than there is from sinking warships: mercantile warfare is against the warrior spirit.