7 DECEMBER 1941
Kido Butai
COMBINED FLEET
Concentrating Japan's naval air power into one powerful task force
payed off in the 7 December strike on Pearl Harbor but the risk
of such a grouping was demonstrated six months later at Midway
with all four fleet carriers sent to ocean's bottom. Among the lives
lost were hundreds of Japan's pilots, a one-time elite whose talents
and experience would be missed in this time of military crisis.
Washington Naval Treaty
1922 - 1936
Restrict size and number of warships.
Japan USA Britain
Aircraft carriers tonnage: 81,000 135,000 135,000
* Because Japan appreciated a carrier's vulnerability to attack
it became an essential tactic that Japan's carrier force strike first
* Grouping aircraft carriers increases the potency of their strike
but putting all carriers in one place risks sinking the entire task force
AIR RAID PEARL HARBOR. THIS IS NOT A DRILL.
07.58 HRS / 7 DEC 1941 / FORD ISLAND CONTROL TOWER
The leaders of both the Japanese and American navies agreed:
THE BEST CARRIER DEFENSE IS TO STRIKE FIRST
HARD AND FAST
A6M Zero / Mitsubishi
SPEED 350 mph
RANGE 975 miles
ARMAMENT 2 x 20 mm cannon
2 x 7.7 mm machineguns
FIGHTER FAST, AGILE AND COMBUSTIBLE / BEST 1941 FIGHTER
D3A Val / Aichi
SPEED 240 mph
RANGE 970 miles
ARMAMENT 2 x 7.7 mm machinegun
830 lb. bombload
DIVEBOMBER BOMBS LIKE STUKA / EASY TARGET FOR FIGHTERS
B5N Kate / Nakajima
SPEED 235 mph
RANGE 975 miles
ARMAMENT 4 x 7.7 mm machinegun
1750 lb bombload or 1 torpedo
BOMBER BEST TORPEDO MADE / PLANE SLOW, VULNERABLE
Destroyer Shaw explodes
JAPAN CONFIDENT TALKS WILL GO ON
Spokesman Says Both Sides Are 'Sincere'
NY TIMES 6 DEC 1941
Battleship Arizona in flames
JAPANESE HERALD 'SUPREME CRISIS'
U.S. IS HELD AGGRESSIVE
Press Intimates Efforts for Negotiated Settlement
May Soon Be Abandoned
NY TIMES 7 DEC 1941
Battleships drew focus away from crucial Navy resources
1 California - 2 torpedoes sink ship
2 Maryland - 2 bomb strikes cause little damage
3 Oklahoma - 5 torpedoes capsize ship trapping 400 below deck
4 Tennessee - damage from Arizona falling debris / not severe
5 West Virginia - sunk by 6 torpedoes, 2 bombs
6 Arizona - destroyed / explosion kills 1,000 onboard
7 Nevada - fought off all but 1 Kate - single torpedo damage
8 Pennsylvania - dry dock / light damage from 1 bomb
9 Ford Island - all planes damaged or destroyed by dive-bombers
A Oil Storage Tanks - untouched
B CINCPAC - HQ, Commander in Chief, Pacific / untouched
C Submarine Base - untouched
D Navy Repair Yard - no significant damage
BB 48 West Virginia settles in mud
TOKYO ACTS FIRST
Declaration Follows Air and Sea Attacks
On U.S. and Britain
TOGO CALLS ENVOYS
NY TIMES 8 DEC 1941
Roosevelt meets with Congressional leaders
Discuss the way forward over sandwiches and beer.
Two questions hang in the air:
How did we not see this coming?
Why was our military so thoroughly unprepared?
_______________
love
dad
© Tom Taylor
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