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WWII |
It was early in January 1941 that Adm. Yamamoto, commander of the
Combined Fleet, instructed a small group of staff to make a study of
a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, which would be made by
carrier-borne aircraft. It was became apparent that only a single
devastating blow dealt at the enemy's principal naval formation at
the beginning of hostilities would guarantee Japan the smooth
conquest of her objectives in South-East Asia. In the following
August, a series of strategic map exercises carried out under the
supervision of Adm. Yamamoto provided the basis for Operational Order
no.1, which was signed in November 1.
Under the orders of Vice-Adm. Chuichi Nagumo, the task force given
the mission of attacking Pearl Harbor included six aircraft carriers
(Kaga, Akagi, Hiryu, Soryu, Zuikaku and Shokaku) with a total
complement of 432 aircraft; two fast battleship (Hiei and Kirishima);
three cruisers (two heavy and one light); three sub-marines, which
were to patrol the itinerary plotted; and eight tankers to refuel the
squadron at sea. On November 22, the 31 units commanded by Nagumo
assembled in a deserted bay on the island of Etorofu, the
southernmost of the Kurile chain. On the 26th, the Japanese task
force set sail, but the order to attack was to be communicated in a
coded message and this came on December 2. The attack, planned for
December first, would be in Rear-Adm. Ugaki's word (chief of staff of
the task force), the Waterloo of the war that was to follow. The
course charted ran east along the 43rd Parallel, thus with the fog
the prevails in those Pacific latitudes rendering any accidental
encounter with other ships unlikely. On December 6th, after
nightfall, the formation set course for its objective.
The following day, Sunday December 7, at 0615, Nagumo, who was by
then 230 miles from Pearl Harbor, dispatched a first
wave of 214 machines, including 50 conventional bombers, 51
dive-bombers and 70 torpedo planes. One hour
later, this formation appeared on a training radar screen, at a range
of approximately 160 miles. But this information, which could have
given a 30 minutes warning to the Pacific Fleet, was not reported by
the young air force officer to whom it had been passed because of the
coincidence that a formation of Flying Fortress coming from
California was expected at the same time and from the same direction.
Lieutenant-Commander Nakaya, who was leading the fighters in the
first wave, saw Pearl Harbor at about 0750: "Pearl Harbor was still
asleep in the morning mist. It was calm and serene inside the harbor,
not even a trace of smoke from the ship in Oahu. The orderly group of
barracks, the wriggling white line of automobile road climbing up to
the mountain top; fine objectives of attack in all directions. In
line with these inside the harbor were important ships of the Pacific
Fleet, strung side by side in an orderly manner". A few minutes
later, two radio messages crossed: at 0753, Captain Fuchida signaled
Akagi: "Tora-Tora-Tora! Surprise successful!"; at 0758, Rear-Adm.
Patrick Bellinger from his HQ on Ford Island sent out in plain
language: "Air raid, Pearl Harbor - This is no drill!"
Of the 127 ships under the command of Rear-Adm. Husband E. Kimmel, 94
were at berth and preparing for the ceremony of colors. But the
Japanese concentrated their efforts on the seven battleships moored
in pairs alongside Ford Island, which stands
in the middle of the roadstead. One 1,760-lbs. bomb blew up the
forward magazine of Arizona, while another dropped down the
funnel and exploded in the engine room. The ship settled quickly and
went down with Rear-Adm. Isaac Kidd and 1,106 officers, pretty
officers and other ranks out of a crew of 1,511. Struck by three
torpedoes, Oklahoma capsized almost instantaneously, trapping
below decks 415 men, some of whom survived until Christmas Eve. Had
it not been for the extraordinary presence in mind of their crews in
taking action to right the two ships, West Virginia and
California would have met the same fate; Nevada was hit
by a torpedo and two bombs but shot down three of her attackers.
Maryland and Tennessee escaped relatively lightly and
were able, after December 20, to leave Oahu for an American dockyard
together with Pennsylvania, which had been in dry-dock and
thus out of reach for torpedoes. Three cruisers and three destroyers
also suffered damage.
At 0715, Nagumo launched his second strike,
consisting of 54 bombers, 80 dive-bombers and 36 fighters. Led by
Lieutenant-Commander Shimazaki, it completed the work of the first
wave in the harbor, then turned its attention to the naval
installations on Ford Island, Wheeler and Hickham Fields ( the air
force bases), and the flying boat station at Kanoehe, destroying 65
aircraft out of the 231 on Oahu. In men, American losses for the day
totaled 2,403 killed and 1,178 wounded. This tremendous success cost
Nagumo 29 planes out of 384 involved in the attack and 55 airmen.
After recovering the aircraft of the second strike, Nagumo set course
north at 1300. But the Japanese did made mistakes. There was little
Nagumo could do about the US Navy's carriers that were absent from
Pearl Harbor, but the cancellation of the third strike meant that the
vast oil storage tanks at Pearl Harbor escaped undamaged, whose
destruction would have incapacitated the US fleet for months.
The attack on Pearl Harbor laid down the foundation for a series
of quick Japanese conquests in South-East Asia. However, history
would bear witness, the failure of the Imperial Navy to deliver the
knock out punch at Pearl Harbor meant that the US Navy still holds on
to its main striking forces: three aircraft-carriers were intact and
with them 20 cruisers and 65 destroyers. Above all, the attack on
December 7 mobilised all American resources and raised a mighty wave
of indignation across the United States. "A date which will live in
infamy", said Roosevelt, giving an account of the events before
Congress. `Before we are through with them, the Japanese language
will be spoken only in Hell!" echoed Adm. Halsey. In the years to
come, the colossal force of the American industrial might would crush
Japan in the western version of the prolonged war. Nevertheless, the
skrike on Pearl Habor would remain a classic in the history of modern
naval warfare.
Disclaimer: Some text in this article is an excerpt from the "Illustrated World War II Encyclopedia", H.S. Stuttman Inc Publishers It is for personal enjoyment only. Do not copy, distribute or use this text for commercial purpose.
