[Llarry]

One of the often-underappreciated aspects of the Pacific War 1941-1945 was that Japan entered the war with forces that had already been in combat for years. Japanese military forces had been at war in China since 1931 and were combat-experienced. The Commonwealth forces had been in combat since the start of the war in Europe in 1939 and U.S. forces only entered the war in late 1941.

Here's a photo of the Japanese aircraft carrier Kaga of 1930. There are three flying-off decks -- there are Nakajima A4N fighters on the main deck and Mitsubishi B1M torpedo bombers on the uppermost deck. The Kaga, after modernization, took part in the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 and in subsequent carrier battles as well. Kaga was sunk by U.S. Navy SBD dive bombers at the Battle of Midway in June of 1942.