Board Thread:Questions and Answers/@comment-73.220.89.40-20150318192417/@comment-99.5.125.253-20160119100310

In what world were the Essex class inferior to any carrier design Japan had?

No Japanese carrier had a deck edge elevator, which was a huge advantage due to the fact that a chance immobilization of the elevator wouldn't result in a huge, gaping hole in the flight deck. Not having to accomodate an elevator pit also increased hangar space.

The flight deck catapults most certainly were not "never used" or removed, and in fact later ships would have 2; the heavier planes carrying heavier weapon loadouts required their use late in the war. Also, they were hydraulic; steam catapults weren't invented until the 50s after the war.

The Essexes were also constructed using better materials. The STS steel used by the USN for ship armor could, and was in the case of the Essexes, be used for structural elements, meaning parts of the ships were built using armored material. The strength of the Essexes was demonstrated based on how much punishment these ships took while still being able to operate (hence Lex's nickname "Blue Ghost" based on how often the Japanese thought they had sunk her); many ships suffered through numerous bomb, torpedo, and kamikaze strikes only to shrug it off and be back to fighting within a few hours. Akagi was destroyed by one bomb and a couple of near misses that set off chain reactions throughout the ship; Franklin took that and was still able to get home under her own power.

You were right in suggesting that the Allies' economic power was a major contributor to their victory, but the Allies had superior ships exactly because they had the money and resources to spend on them; the upcoming Midways improved on all these points. Just because Japan realized their economic weakness and tried to prioritize quality over quantity doesn't mean they succeeded.

Oh, and I'm not using Wikipedia either.