The final countdown.

[TGLS]

I'm a history/aviation buff but not an expert, but, would the 1940s fuel even work in an F-14?

After reading wikipedia's article on Jet Fuel, I think the answer is "It's complicated". I think that the short answer would be, someone on the aircraft carrier would know what the mix is, and the specific mix is the hard part when it comes to R&D.

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The real problem with doing anything long term with this would be answering the question, "Why isn't the technical crew and the ship being scooped into some skunk-works?"

[Nealithi]

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The real problem with doing anything long term with this would be answering the question, "Why isn't the technical crew and the ship being scooped into some skunk-works?"

I think the answer is that unless they failed to protect Pearl Harbor they would be. Not just the technical crew. All of the crew. Because even the cooks will know the damage control duties for the ship and be valuable understanding her. The only reason to keep her in theater is if somehow the systems didn't work right. Like the Phoenix missiles could not get proper lock-on to the mostly wooden aircraft. So the Nimitz blunts the attack and harms the Japanese fleet. But does not prevent said attack. Therefore is needed for support of things like the Aleutian Islands campaign etc. Till the fleet is restored. And by then she would be a proper flagship. (Though someone would likely rename her since she was named for an admiral that was in active duty at the time)

[TGLS]

I think the answer is that unless they failed to protect Pearl Harbor they would be. Not just the technical crew. All of the crew. Because even the cooks will know the damage control duties for the ship and be valuable understanding her. The only reason to keep her in theater is if somehow the systems didn't work right.

I dunno. Even leaving aside everything else, the ship has two nuclear reactors and a team of engineers to maintain them. Actually building an experimental nuclear reactor is literally a year away. Very tricky situation here...

(Though someone would likely rename her since she was named for an admiral that was in active duty at the time)

Honestly, if there was a remake to be done, I'd use an even more ludicrous ship name (for the period), like a future president, Carl Vinson, or Doris Miller (actually, that would be the most apt.)

[Orel]

I'm a history/aviation buff but not an expert, but, would the 1940s fuel even work in an F-14?

Yes, I think. Gas turbine engines are fairly forgiving of what fuels you put in them--it's one of the reasons why the US shifted to gas turbines in tanks. Using 1941-vintage avgas would be a slight problem because aviation gasoline, then and now, was leaded--so you'd get a buildup of lead on the turbine parts with time--but not insurmountable, just reducing service life. But even this could be circumvented because jet fuel is, essentially, just filtered kerosene--any refinery could make it. They just need to make port and buy some up.

The spare parts are a bigger issue, particularly on Tomcats. The hydraulics used to adjust wing sweep needed a lot of maintenance. There was one historical case where the system failed in flight, leaving the wings swept back--which meant that the plane had to come in for a landing at over 230 mph, a speed which would make a carrier landing unfeasible (fortunately, a land base with an 8,000 foot runway was available). In that case, it was a titanium gear that cracked--and in those days, titanium was not a mature aerospace metal. It'll take years just to train machinists and build tools to work titanium. Or even to acquire the stuff--the modern titanium smelting process was only invented in 1940.

So the Nimitz would, if offered to the 1941 US Navy, only be used for cases where it's urgently needed. Relieving Wake Island and the Philippines would be next on the list.

[Al-1701]

Something I haven't seen considered in these scenarios is it wouldn't even take aggressive action to stop the attack on Pearl Harbor. Yamamoto didn't want to pick a fight with the U.S. He knew getting entangled in a war with the United States would inevitably lead to Japanese defeat. That is why he chose to attack Pearl Harbor because he figured if he could wreck the naval base and sink their aircraft carriers, the Americans would be at such a strategic disadvantage they would surrender the Pacific and come to the negotiating table. He considered Pearl a failure because the port was still functional and they failed to catch a single carrier. It only served to enrage America and sabotaged any possibility of negotiated peace.

Just buzzing the Japanese fleet with a squadron of F-14s would have put three thoughts in Yamamoto's mind.

1. They've been spotted and the U.S. knows they're there and this was a polite "I see you". This means at best the ships in port are being sent out and Pearl Harbor is ready for attack. At worst, those ships are headed for him. If they attack at night, all of Japan's fleet carriers are in one place, covered in armed and fuel aircraft, and helpless.

2. American plains here means there is at least one carrier out there and not at Pearl. Since he was looking to take them out as a top priority, attacking Pearl Harbor would not accomplish it.

3. America has working jets. And knowing American industry, they would soon be able to darken the skies of the Pacific with them.

Thinking these things, he would order the fleet to turn tail and run while calling Tojo and telling him to make peace with America at any cost. He was hoping they could end the American threat with a quick strike. In the current situation, any initiation of conflict would be suicidal for the Japanese Empire.

Now, that's being able to think things through. Obviously, in the emotional moment, blasting the Japanese fleet to bits would be so tempting regardless of the historical consequences.

As for the longhaul, maintaining the Nimitz and its air wing would be difficult and would have been used sparingly. However, with working examples of technology, the 40 years of advancement probably would happen in a decade. I also suspect it would be a tempting espionage target for Axis and Ally targets alike.

It reminds me of the series of Harry Turtledove novels where aliens invaded at the onset of World War II. It quadrupled the rate of Earth's technological advancement during the second half of the 20th century compared to our timeline.

[CrypticMirror]

I think I know what the real problem is with the movie. It is the title. What is the Countdown and why is it Final? The title is far too overblown for what the plot is that it creates an anticipation the movie cannot support with its plot. The events of Pearl Harbour are in the offing, but there is no real tension in counting down towards it. There is no real feeling of finality in any of the options the movie spends its runtime discussing. We need an omnipresent ticking clock, and a sense of tense and complete overwhelming consequences in order for there to be a Countdown and for it to be a Final one. They just are not there, so it comes across a little flat.

[Beelzquill]

This movie's whole premise reminds me of the alternate history book series, 1632 where a West Virginia town and its people are time shifted by aliens to Germany in the middle of the Thirty Years War. I really would like a long form series about Nimitz transported to 1941, but the mechanics of how that happens always screws with me.

[Rocketboy1313]

This movie's whole premise reminds me of the alternate history book series, 1632 where a West Virginia town and its people are time shifted by aliens to Germany in the middle of the Thirty Years War. I really would like a long form series about Nimitz transported to 1941, but the mechanics of how that happens always screws with me.

I never remember to actually read any of that series, but I too always think of it first when these kinds of what-if stories come up.
It seems like the sort of fun premise that I would like to get into, but I worry that it will be another series that I will never make much headway in... and it is probably all premise no prose... has anyone read the first book and compare the writing style to other science fiction writers I might be familiar with? Is it weird or stilted?

[Beelzquill]

I wish I read it man, But I think I'm going to now.

[Orel]

I wish I read it man, But I think I'm going to now.

If you're interested in the 1632 series, Baen actually had a free library system by which they freely distributed the books up to 1635: The Eastern Front. Eric Flint (the writer of 1632 and editor of the Baen Free Library) convinced the directors of Baen that it's actually more profitable to release E-books freely, because people who like the e-books will buy the physical books.

1632 itself is just OK, but the quality improves sharply with 1633, the sequel.