 Replacement pilots were pushed through an abbreviated training regimen in order to meet the short @-@ term needs of the fleet . This led to a sharp decline in the quality of the aviators produced . These inexperienced pilots were fed into front @-@ line units , while the veterans who remained after Midway and the Solomons campaign were forced to share an increased workload as conditions grew more desperate , with few being given a chance to rest in rear areas or in the home islands . As a result , Japanese naval air groups as a whole progressively deteriorated during the war while their American adversaries continued to improve . 
