Tora-Tora-Tora! Pearl Harbor

The plan

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 attack

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.

America at war

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.