I just want to point out that during WWII we were not in the middle of the Great Depression. WWII is generally considered to have started in 1939 (some may put the dates earlier) and the US did not enter the war until 1941. Most people put the end of the Great Depression around 1939 or 1940; that puts the middle around 1935.
German naval power was apparent even in the Gulf of Mexico, and the British got extremely lucky by eliminating some of the key ships of WWII. I think the Germans could have easily taken England had they not diverted so many resources to killing innocents.
The Japanese wanted to control Asia and were well on their way to doing so. They really had very little interest in the US. They went from a feudal society to a world power in about 60-70 years. Very impressive by any standard, even if they were the enemy.
Don't know what this has to do with light bulbs.