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On December 7, 1941, at 7:55 a.m. Hawaii time, a Japanese dive bomber bearing the red symbol of the Rising Sun of Japan on its wings appears out of the clouds above the island of Oahu. A swarm of 360 Japanese warplanes followed, descending on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor in a ferocious assault. The surprise attack struck a critical blow against the U.S. Pacific fleet and drew the United States irrevocably into World War II.
Pearl Harbor bombed | December 7, 1941 | HISTORY
Posted from history.com
WWII World War Two
Japan
Hawaii
Pearl Harbor
Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam
Posted 23 h ago
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Two very important contributing factors to the disaster aren't widely known.
1. Leadership consolidated our aircraft on Oahu in the middle of the runways because they were more concerned about sabotage than what actually happened. That made them an easy target, preventing much of a response, as they were largely destroyed on the ground.
2. A flight of 6 Army bombers was due in from the mainland that day. Even though the size of the inbound mass was way off, as was the azimuth on which they were detected, when the incoming Japanese popped up on radar, the officer on duty blew it off, assuming that it was the B-17s, and passed no warning up the chain.
But we also had a HUGE incident of divine providence that day. Why were no carriers, the primary target of the Japanese, present? Because two of them were busy ferrying aircraft to Wake and Midway, and the other one was in San Diego, taking on aircraft, pilots, and supplies after a major refit. Had we lost Enterprise, Lexington, and Saratoga that day, there might not have been a war in the Pacific, we might have sued for peace with Japan and only fought Germany and Italy.
1. Leadership consolidated our aircraft on Oahu in the middle of the runways because they were more concerned about sabotage than what actually happened. That made them an easy target, preventing much of a response, as they were largely destroyed on the ground.
2. A flight of 6 Army bombers was due in from the mainland that day. Even though the size of the inbound mass was way off, as was the azimuth on which they were detected, when the incoming Japanese popped up on radar, the officer on duty blew it off, assuming that it was the B-17s, and passed no warning up the chain.
But we also had a HUGE incident of divine providence that day. Why were no carriers, the primary target of the Japanese, present? Because two of them were busy ferrying aircraft to Wake and Midway, and the other one was in San Diego, taking on aircraft, pilots, and supplies after a major refit. Had we lost Enterprise, Lexington, and Saratoga that day, there might not have been a war in the Pacific, we might have sued for peace with Japan and only fought Germany and Italy.
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