Ryan Evans

History 500 WW2 Carrier Warfare in the Pacific

Thursday, April 03, 2008

American Mistakes:

Chain of Command Alert system failed

Misinterpretation of incoming radar intercept for the flight of B-17s coming from the mainland

New of the sinking of the Japanese mini sub came too late

Planes were clustered close together to protect from sabotage which made them perfect targets for aerial bombardment

It was a Sunday putting the lowest alert for American Military Forces

America expected hostilities elsewhere such as in the Philippines.

Japanese Aircraft usage for Pearl Harbor[1]

Japanese Carrier Planes used:

143: Nakajima Type

97: B5N2 Model 11 Bombers

129: Aichi Type

99: D3A1 Model 11 Dive Bombers

78: Mitsubishi Type 0 A6M2 Zeke

Ryan Evans

On December 7^th 1941 the Japanese attacked the United States at dawn at Pearl Harbor. Thinking that it would pacify the Americans by destroying their immediate capability to wage war in the Pacific by destroying a large portion of their capital ships including their all important Battleships it turned out to backfire. The code messages took to long and the declaration of hostilities was told to late and America saw it as an unprovoked sneak attack and the entire American nation was swept up into a storm of fury. It was the complete anger and determined will stirred by this attack that helped for the American mentality to be stirred to fight until absolute victory to avenge the attack. The attack completely took them by surprise it was on a Sunday morning and early in the morning. Most of the men on the ill fated battleships were asleep below decks in their bunks. Many were not phased by the explosions for they had been on alert and had been used to drills. It took a great effort for the ships communication to envoke that it was no drill America was under attack which in some instances brought about panic.

Comdr Takahisa Amagai the air offier on the Hiryu carrier was in charge of the planes. He had to get up early and was responsible for checking the planes insuring their operational status. He also needed to fully brief all the pilots and aircrews making sure everyone had the latest info. His last task was to make sure that all the planes were ready to launch [1]

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[1] , Gordon W. Prange December 7th 1941: The Day The Japanese Attacked Pearl Harbor. (New York:Warner Books, 1988), 75.

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[1] John Kuborn and Leatrice Arakaki. 7December 1941 The Air Force Study.(Hickam Air Force Base Hawii: Pacific Air Forces Office of History: 1991), 61.