The Great Pacific War, by Hector Bywater, published in 1925 is one of the the classic alternate history/alternate war fictions. Bywater dabbled in warship design, for example the fictional Indomptable commerce raiding hybrid cruiser-seaplane carrier that he proposed in 1925 in an article for U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings in cooperation with fellow author-analyst Maurice Prendergrast.
Most of the warships in The Great Pacific War are real-world ships, with only the Japanese cruiser-submarines approaching fictional levels of whiffery (2,500 mines on a submarine is insanity) which adds to authenticity. The book would probably be much less famous had it not seemed to presage the Pacific campaign of WW2 - the book dealing with a Japanese attack on the Philippines and other US territories in 1931 (6 years in the future), the outbreak of which is not an attack on Pearl Harbor but instead sabotage of the Panama Canal by exploding a freighter packed with TNT inside it to cause a landslide. Aircraft though do play a powerful role, particularly torpedo bombers (dive-bombing seems to make little impact) but paradoxically aircraft carriers play less of a role, all new construction in the book is of small carriers carrying 20 or so aircraft and the Japanese even convert Kaga and Akagi back to capital ships!
The bulk of US building is Treaty cruisers - tinclads, some probably built incredibly too quickly, even quicker than WW2 mass production of such ships. Diesels feature heavily to increase range for transpacific voyages, even in destroyers.
On to the ships!
Japan
Kaga: real aircraft carrier, reconverted to a battleship during 1931-32 with a displacement of 40,000 tons, armed with 5x2 16in turrets and a max speed of 23kt; sunk by US battleships in 1932
Akagi: real aircraft carrier, reconverted to a battlecruiser during 1931-32 with a displacement of 44,000 tons, armed with 4x2 16in turrets and a max speed of max speed of 30kt
4x unnamed: battleships with a displacement of nearly 50,000 tons and armed with ?x 18in guns; laid down in 1931
Asama: real Asama-class armoured cruiser, rearmed with forward 8in turret replaced by 2x1 12in howitzers for shore bombardment; damaged by coastal batteries on Guam in 1931
Tokiwa: real Asama-class armoured cruiser, rearmed with forward 8in turret replaced by 2x1 12in howitzers for shore bombardment; damaged by coastal batteries on Guam in 1931
Nisshin: real Nisshin-class armoured cruiser; sunk by coastal batteries on Guam in 1931
Myoko: real Myoko-class heavy cruiser (which had only just been laid down when the book was published)
Chitose: heavy cruiser with a displacement of 10,000 tons, armed with ?x 8in guns and with a max speed of 34kt, built during the 1920s; name clashes with a protected cruiser stricken in 1928 and a seaplane carrier completed in 1936
Kasagi: heavy cruiser with a displacement of 10,000 tons, armed with ?x 8in guns and with a max speed of 34kt, built during the 1920s; sunk while attacking a convoy
Yoshino: heavy cruiser with a displacement of 10,000 tons, armed with ?x 8in guns and with a max speed of 34kt, built during the 1920s
Tatsuta: real Tenryu-class light cruiser fictionally sunk by a US torpedo bomber in 1931
Hamakaze: real Isokaze-class destroyer fictionally sunk by USS S-18 in 1931
Hosho: real aircraft carrier
Matsushmia & 3x unnamed: aircraft carriers with a displacement of just under 6,000tons, carries an airgroup of 15x aircraft and has a max speed of 28kt; Matsushmia is sunk off Guam by US bombers in 1931
Hakata: a ex-civilian fast steamer converted into an auxiliary aircraft carrier, disguised as a British Blue Line freighter, armed with 4x1 6in guns concealed in deckhouses and carries an airgroup of 20x seaplanes; sorties with submarine I-54 to bomb the US West Coast
Fushimi: real gunboat on Yangtze River, fictionally sunk by USS Palos (PG-16) in 1932
Hodzu [Hozu]: real gunboat on Yangtze River, fictionally sinks the USS Palos (PG-16) in 1932
Ro.51: real Type L-class submarine, fictionally captures the US-flagged freighter Orient in 1931
I-53: real Kaidai Type 3A-class submarine, fictionally operated from temporary base near Cape Horn in 1931 and sunk by US naval forces
I-54: submarine with a displacement of 2,000 tons and is armed with 2x1 5.5in deck guns and ?x torpedo tubes; operated off San Diego but sunk by destroyers USS Rathburne and USS Shirk; pennant clashes with a Kaidai Type 3A-class submarine completed in 1927
I-58: submarine operated from temporary base near Cape Horn in 1931 and sunk by US naval forces; pennant clashes with a Kaidai Type 3A-class submarine completed in 1927
I-59: submarine, sunk off Truk in 1931; pennant clashes with a Kaidai Type 3B-class submarine completed in 1930
Nagasaki, Hakodate, Kobe, Osaka, Nagoya & 1x unnamed (+2 under construction): cruiser submarines designed by German engineers, first laid down spring 1925 at Kure; have a displacement of 7,080 tons (surf) and dimensions of 405 x 45ft; armed with 1x2 8in turret (500rpg) and 3x1 4in deck guns, 8x hull & 2x deck torpedo tubes (1x submarine completed without the turret and instead has 2,500x mines); powered by 29,000hp diesels for a max speed of 23kt (surf) and electric motors for 11kt sub, have a range of 24,000nm; Nagasaki lost, Hakodate rammed and sunk by battleship Yamashiro and Nagoya sunk by US warships
Tsurugizaki: real oiler, fictionally sorties with auxiliary aircraft carrier Hakata
Akashi Maru: a civilian steamship deliberately blown up to block the Panama Canal in 1931
Aso Maru: a civilian steamer used as transport for invasion of the Philippines in 1931 and badly damaged by submarine; name clashes with a motor ship built in 1932 impressed as a gunboat in 1938
Hanno Maru: a civilian steamer used as transport for invasion of the Philippines in 1931 and sunk by submarine
Nagasaki Maru: a civilian steamer of Nippon Yusen Kaisha line completed in 1923converted into an auxiliary cruiser during 1931 armed with 4x1 6in guns and 2x2 torpedo tubes; has a displacement of 5,272 tons gross and a max speed of 20kt; operated in the Atlantic sinking the auxiliary cruiser USS George Washington and USS Leviathan and capturing USS Mount Vernon
Nikko Maru: a civilian steamship captured by submarine USS S-4 in the Philippines in 1931
Osaka Maru: a civilian steamer used as transport for invasion of the Philippines in 1931 and sunk by submarine
Sado Maru: a liner of N.Y.K. Line, used as transport for invasion of the Philippines in 1931 and sunk by bombing; name clashes with a steamer built in 1898 and used during Russo-Japanese War and not broken up until 1934
Sendai Maru: a civilian steamer used as transport for invasion of the Philippines in 1931 and sunk by submarine; name clashes with a motor fishing vessel built in 1933
Shanghai Maru: a civilian steamer of Nippon Yusen Kaisha line completed in 1923converted into an auxiliary cruiser during 1931 armed with 4x1 6in guns and 2x2 torpedo tubes; has a displacement of 5,272 tons gross and a max speed of 20kt; operated in the Atlantic sinking the auxiliary cruiser USS George Washington and USS Leviathan and capturing USS Mount Vernon
Tsubari Maru: a civilian steamer used as transport for invasion of the Philippines in 1931 and sunk by bombing
Wakasa Maru: a civilian steamer used as transport for invasion of the Philippines in 1931 and sunk by bombing
Aircraft
Asahi: bomber with a 1.5 ton (1,360kg) bombload
Torpedo Bomber: carries 2x 23in torpedoes
Large Seaplane: carries a 0.5 ton (450kg) bombload; carried aboard the auxiliary carrier Hakata
USA
Asiatic Fleet – based at Manila, Philippines
Missoula (CA-13): real Tennessee-class armoured cruiser fictionally sunk in battle with the Japanese Fleet in 1931
Frederick (CA-8): real Pennsylvania-class armoured cruiser fictionally sunk in battle with the Japanese Fleet in 1931
Cleveland (CL-19): real Denver-class light cruiser fictionally scuttled in Manila Bay in 1931
Denver (CL-14): real Denver-class light cruiser fictionally sunk in battle with the Japanese Fleet in 1931
Galveston (CL-16): real Denver-class light cruiser fictionally sunk in battle with the Japanese Fleet in 1931
Curtiss: small aircraft carrier, carries an airgroup of 14x aircraft (8x fighter, 6x torpedo bombers), has a max speed of 22kt, built in the 1920s; sunk in battle with Japanese Fleet by gunfire in 1931
10x destroyers, including named vessels:
Crosby (DD-164): real Wickes-class destroyer fictionally sunk in battle with Japanese Fleet in 1931
Hulbert (D-342): real Clemson-class destroyer fictionally sunk in battle with Japanese Fleet in 1931
Osborne (DD-295): real Clemson-class destroyer fictionally sunk by a Japanese light cruiser trying to escape from Manila in 1931
Dent (DD-116): real Wickes-class destroyer fictionally escapes from Manila but sunk just off Guam by a Japanese submarine in 1931
Lamberton (DD-119): real Wickes-class destroyer fictionally escapes from Manila to Guam in 1931
Rizal (DM-14, ex-DD-174): real Wickes-class destroyer fitted as minelayer fictionally escapes from Manila to Guam in 1931
3x light minelayers
12x submarines, including named vessels:
S-4 (SS-109): real S-class (1st Group) submarine fictionally not lost in 1927 and captures the Japanese merchant ship Nikko Maru off the Philippines in 1931
S-10 (SS-115): real S-class(1st Group) submarine fictionally sunk by a mine in 1931
S-11 (SS-116): real S-class (1st Group) submarine fictionally rammed and sunk by a Japanese while attacking troop transports in 1931
S-15 (SS-120): real S-class (1st Group) submarine fictionally sunk while attacking Japanese troop transports in 1931
S-18 (SS-123): real S-class (1st Group) submarine fictionally sinks Japanese Isokaze-class destroyer Hamakaze in 1931
S-19 (SS-124): real S-class (1st Group) submarine fictionally scuttled in Manila Bay in 1931
S-23 (SS-128): real S-class (1st Group) submarine fictionally escapes from Manila to Guam, sunk by mine while escaping to USA in 1931
S-50: real S-class (4th Group) submarine fictionally escapes from Manila to Guam, escaped to USA in 1931
Pacific Fleet ships/new construction
4x unnamed: battlecruisers with a displacement of 52,000 tons, armed with 4x2 18in turrets and a max speed of 35kt, laid down in 1931
Alaska: aircraft carrier; escort for a fleet of decoy battleships in 1932
Curtiss: aircraft carrier, a replacement for the sunken USS Curtiss, completed in 1932
Harvard: aircraft carrier, completed in 1932 ; takes part in invasion of Pelew Islands in 1932
Monatuk: aircraft carrier, completed in 1932
Wright: aircraft carrier, completed in 1920s
Charlotte (CA-12): real Tennessee-class armoured cruiser fictionally recommissioned in 1931
Huntingdon (CA-5): real Pennsylvania-class armoured cruiser fictionally recommissioned in 1931
Huron (CA-9): real Pennsylvania-class armoured cruiser fictionally nearly sunk during Japanese sabotage of the Panama Canal in 1931
Atlanta: a heavy cruiser with a displacement of 10,000 tons and armed with 3x3 8in turrets, completed in 1931-32
Cleveland: a heavy cruiser with a displacement of 10,000 tons and armed with 3x3 8in turrets, completed in 1932; sunk by the Japanese battlecruiser Akagi in 1932; name clashes with Denver-class light cruiser (CL-21) completed in 1903 and decommissioned in 1929
Columbia: a heavy cruiser with a displacement of 10,000 tons and armed with 3x3 8in turrets, completed in 1931; sunk by Japanese armoured cruisers off Samoa in 1931
Columbus: a heavy cruiser with a displacement of 10,000 tons and armed with 3x3 8in turrets, completed in 1931-32
Denver: a heavy cruiser with a displacement of 10,000 tons and armed with 3x3 8in turrets, completed in 1931; name clashes with Denver-class light cruiser (CL-16) completed in 1904 and decommissioned in 1933
Hartford: a heavy cruiser with a displacement of 10,000 tons and armed with 3x3 8in turrets, completed in 1931-32
Kansas City: a heavy cruiser with a displacement of 10,000 tons and armed with 3x3 8in turrets, completed in 1931-32
Los Angeles: a heavy cruiser with a displacement of 10,000 tons and armed with 3x3 8in turrets, completed in 1931-32
Minneapolis: a heavy cruiser with a displacement of 10,000 tons and armed with 3x3 8in turrets, built during the 1920s; sunk in a battle with Japanese cruisers in 1931; name clashes with New Orleans-class heavy cruiser (CA-36) completed in 1934
Olympia: a heavy cruiser with a displacement of 10,000 tons and armed with 3x3 8in turrets, completed in 1931-32; name clashes with protected cruiser (C-6) stricken in 1922 and earmarked as a museum ship (IX-40) in 1931
Portland: a heavy cruiser with a displacement of 10,000 tons and armed with 3x3 8in turrets, built during the 1920s; name clashes with Portland-class heavy cruiser (CA-35) completed in 1933
Wilmington: a heavy cruiser with a displacement of 10,000 tons and armed with 3x3 8in turrets, completed in 1931-32; name clashes with Wilmington-class gunboat (PG-8) completed in 1897 and decommissioned in 1945
Albany-class
Albany: a heavy cruiser with a displacement of 10,000 tons and armed with ?x 8in guns, carries 2x seaplanes, completed in 1931
Troy: a heavy cruiser with a displacement of 10,000 tons and armed with ?x 8in guns, carries 2x seaplanes, completed in 1931; sunk by the Japanese battlecruiser Akagi in 1932
10x unnamed: heavy cruisers with a displacement of 10,000 tons, armed with 3x3 8in turrets, powered by 60,000hp diesels for a max speed of 28kt, laid down in 1931
5 unnamed: heavy cruisers with a displacement of 12,000 tons, armed with 3x3 8in turrets and powered by diesels, laid down in 1932
Aaron Ward (DD-132): real Wickes-class destroyer fictionally recommissioned in 1931 and damaged by Japanese minefield off San Diego
Ballard (DD-267): real Clemson-class destroyer fictionally damaged by Japanese minefield off San Diego in 1931
Farragut (DD-300): real Clemson-class destroyer fictionally still in commission in 1931
Hopewell (DD-181): real Wickes-class destroyer fictionally recommissioned in 1931
Laub (DD-263): real Clemson-class destroyer fictionally damaged by Japanese minefield off San Diego in 1931
Melvin (DD-335): real Clemson-class destroyer fictionally still in commission in 1931
Reid (DD-292): real Clemson-class destroyer fictionally still in commission in 1931
Thompson (DD-305): real Clemson-class destroyer fictionally sunk by Japanese minefield off San Diego in 1931
Yarborough (DD-314): real Clemson-class destroyer fictionally sunk by Japanese minefield off San Diego in 1931
Zeilin (DD-313): real Clemson-class destroyer fictionally still in commission in 1931
?x unnamed: destroyers powered by diesels and steam turbine propulsion, laid down in 1931
?x unnamed: destroyers with a displacement of 1,500 tons, laid down in 1931-32
V-7: ocean-going submarine with a displacement of 1,700 tons (surf), completed in 1931-32; name clashes with USS Dolphin (ex-V-7) (SS-169) completed in 1932
V-11: ocean-going submarine with a displacement of 1,700 tons (surf), completed in 1931-32
20x unnamed: ocean-going submarines, laid down in 1931-32
Arlington: naval transport, rams the USS Marquette and sinks in 1931
Bath (AK-4): real naval transport fictionally still in commission in 1931, armed with 2x MGs, scuttled following damage from Japanese submarine off Guam in 1931
Beaufort: naval transport, used to send supplies to the Philippines but diverted to Guam in 1931
Marquette: naval transport, rammed by the USS Arlington and sunk in 1931
Nikko Maru: Japanese civilian steamship captured by submarine USS S-4 near the Philippines and impressed as a fleet auxiliary
Newport News (AK-3): real naval transport fictionally still in commission in 1931, used to send supplies to the Philippines but diverted to Guam in 1931
George Washington: real civilian liner of United States Lines fictionally converted into an auxiliary cruiser with ?x 6in guns in 1931; operated in the Atlantic, sunk by Japanese auxiliary cruiser Nagasaki Maru and Shanghai Maru
Leviathan (ex-SS Vaterland): real civilian liner of United States Lines fictionally converted into an auxiliary cruiser with ?x 6in guns in 1931; operated in the Atlantic, sunk by Japanese auxiliary cruiser Nagasaki Maru and Shanghai Maru
Mount Vernon (ex- SS Kronprinzessin Cecilie): real civilian liner of United States Lines fictionally converted into an auxiliary cruiser with ?x 6in guns; operated in the Atlantic, captured by Japanese auxiliary cruiser Nagasaki Maru and Shanghai Maru
President Cleveland: real civilian liner of American President Lines fictionally converted into an auxiliary cruiser with ?x 6in guns in 1931; operated in the Atlantic
President Jefferson: real civilian liner of American President Lines fictionally converted into an auxiliary cruiser with ?x 6in guns in 1931
President Madison: real civilian liner of American President Lines fictionally converted into an auxiliary cruiser with ?x 6in guns in 1931; operated in the Atlantic
President Pierce: real civilian liner of American President Lines fictionally converted into an auxiliary cruiser with ?x 6in guns in 1931; operated in the Atlantic
President Taft: real civilian liner of American President Lines fictionally converted into an auxiliary cruiser with ?x 6in guns in 1931
Aircraft
Chicago: large rigid airship
