User blog comment:WolfgangBSC/The Random Chat Room/@comment-13740085-20160430020630/@comment-26482266-20160509035111

An absolute defeat for the Americans. What the A6M3 Zero has that the Wildcat (the principle fighter of the USN) doesn't have is energy retention and most importantly - SPEED. The fighter with the most energy is usually the fighter that would win in a fight. Yes, while the Zero has less armor, it still outperforms the F4F at almost every aspect in terms of maneuverability, and would absolute CRUSH the F4F-4's in performance.

With air superiority out of the way, individually, the Japanese aircraft carriers Shoukaku and Zuikaku would be able to carry more fighters, dive bombers, and interceptors. Soryu and Hiryu is just as well evenly matched as the Yorktown and the Enterprise. The Akagi and Kaga are more than a match for the Lexington and Saratoga.

(This is assuming that they both took a proportional number of fighters, torpedo bombers, and dive bombers, and if all air crews had the same kind of training)