it still doesn't account for the observation that the numbers just don't add up.
I will try to illustrate with an example. For all navies, well over 50% of losses for carrier operations had nothing to do with enemy action. at santa cruz the US suffered 2.5 times as many losses to non-combat causes as it did in combat. When you went to sea and undertook operations under wartime conditions, most of your losses will have nothing to do with the enemy air activitiy, unless you lose a flattop. Doesn't mean that you might wont take a beating in the air, but if there is a frenetic pace of operations on the deck, regardless of nationality, there will be accidents, fires, ditchngs, overshots, landing gear failures, engine failures, you name it. This was true regardless of nationality. The Brits during Operation torch, lost just three aircraft to enemy action, and over 40 to accidents. If you look at the US their loss rates in times of high activity were somewhat better (in the example I gave, high performance aircraft were operating from CVEs, your loss rates to attrition on bigger carriers was generally better). Yet despite this the USN, as an example, claims to have shot down over 100 IJN carrier a/c at Santa Cruz. If this were true, they lost none to operational causes 9Japanese records say they lost about 100 a/c in total). I don't doubt the IJN lost 100 a/c, but they didn't lose 100 to USN action alone.
Ive got a copy of Shattered Sword, and it is an extremely well researched balanced and excellent account, and also does not support the notion that the USN comprehensively defeated the IJN in the air. most of the Japanese aircraft were in fact lost by ditching or went down with the ships.
The few surviving Japanese records of losses that exist also don't support most of the loss tallies touted by most sources. the Japanese in general lost a lot of aircraft, and as a rule the losses given are accurate as a raw total, from all causes, but that's not whats at issue here, its losses of IJN a/c in the air, is it not? if so, I can tell you there are a lot of enormous porkies being told, and often
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