The US could afford to lose 3-4 Midways and STILL would win the war.

For reference, by '44 the US was fielding a fully equipped Carrier Battle Group (CV, flight group, escorts, munitions, supplies, and personnel) every 60 days.

Some of the US CVE's went from laying the kiel to commissioning in a little over 3 months (108 days was the shortest, I think).

The US was building ~60k aircraft a year.

In 1942, Japan built 42 Carrier Aircraft. Not 42k. 42.
(caveat, I don't have the cite at hand, it might have been 42 carrier bombers - I think it was in Shattered Sword that I caught this factoid).


Japan couldn't lose a battle, and the US could have lost very nearly all of them, and STILL won the war.