New Delhi: On November 26, 1941, a Japanese task force (the Striking Force) composed of six aircraft carriers, Akagi, Kaga, Sry, Hiry, Shkaku, and Zuikaku, sailed from Hittokapu Bay on Kasatka (now Iterup) Island in the Kuril Islands toward a location northwest of Hawaii with the intention of launching its 408 aircraft to attack Pearl Harbor. Of these, 360 were for the two attack waves and 48 were on defensive combat air patrol (CAP), including nine fighters from the first wave.
The first wave was to launch the main assault, while the second wave's first and second targets were carriers and cruisers, and its third target was battleships. Specifically modified Type 91 aerial torpedoes with an anti-roll mechanism and a rudder extension that allowed them to operate in shallow water made up the majority of the weapons used to attack capital ships that were carried by the first wave.
Battleships and aircraft carriers were the highest value targets, but if they weren't available, any other high-value ships were to be chosen by the aircrews (cruisers and destroyers). Ground targets were to be attacked by first-wave dive bombers. To ensure that parked aircraft did not take to the air to intercept the bombers, particularly in the first wave, fighters were instructed to strafe and destroy as many as they could. The fighters were instructed to refuel at the aircraft carriers when their fuel level dropped so they could resume combat. Where necessary, especially over US airfields, fighters were to perform CAP duties.
The Imperial Japanese Navy launched reconnaissance floatplanes from the cruisers Chikuma and Tone prior to the attack, one to scout over Oahu and the other to scout over Lahaina Roads, Maui, with orders to report on the make-up and location of the US fleet. Flights by reconnaissance aircraft were unnecessary and ran the risk of alerting the US. Due to Takeo Yoshikawa's reports, US fleet composition and readiness information were already known at Pearl Harbor.The Tone's floatplane and fleet submarine I-72 reported that the US fleet had left the Lahaina anchorage off the island of Maui. In order to spot any counterattacks, four more scout planes flew patrols between the Japanese carrier force (the Kid Butai) and Niihau.
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For transport to the waters off Oahu, the fleet submarines I-16, I-18, I-20, I-22, and I-24 each boarded a Type A midget submarine. On November 25, 1941, the five I-boats departed from Kure Naval District. They approached the mouth of Pearl Harbor within 10 nautical miles (19 kilometres; 12 miles) on December 6, and on December 7, around 01:00 local time, they launched their midget subs. The minesweeper Condor noticed a midget submarine periscope southwest of the Pearl Harbor entrance buoy at 03:42 Hawaiian Time and informed the destroyer Ward. It's possible that the midget entered Pearl Harbor. But at 6:37 a.m., Ward sank a second midget submarine with the first American shots fired in the Pacific Theater. Before being sunk by the attacking destroyer Monaghan at 8:43, a midget submarine on the north side of Ford Island missed the seaplane tender Curtiss with her first torpedo and the attacking destroyer Monaghan with her second.
The Ha-19 midget submarine, the third one, grounded twice—once outside the harbour entrance and once on the east side of Oahu—before being captured on December 8. Ensign Kazuo Sakamaki, the first Japanese prisoner of war, swam ashore and was apprehended by Corporal David Akui of the Hawaii National Guard. Before it could launch its torpedoes, a fourth vessel's crew abandoned it after it suffered damage from a depth charge attack. In 1960, it was discovered near the harbour. On December 8, at 00:41, a midget submarine sent a radio message to Japanese forces claiming that Pearl Harbor had sustained damage to one or more significant warships.
Hawaii Undersea Research Laboratory's submersibles discovered the fifth midget submarine's wreck, which was split into three pieces, outside of Pearl Harbor in 1992, 2000, and 2001. The wreck was located in the area where the US military dumped vehicles and landing craft along with other surplus equipment after the war. Its torpedoes were missing, both of them. This is consistent with reports of two torpedoes being fired at the St. Louis, a light cruiser, at 10:04 at the entrance to Pearl Harbor, and an alleged torpedo being fired at the Helm, a destroyer, at 8:21.
War declaration by Japan
It was not Admiral Yamamoto's intention for the attack to occur prior to Japan making a formal declaration of war. His original order called for the attack to wait 30 minutes after Japan had notified the US that peace talks had come to an end. The attack, however, started before the notice could be given. The 5000-word notification, also known as the "14-Part Message," was sent from Tokyo to the Japanese Embassy in Washington in two blocks. The message had to be transcribed too slowly for the Japanese ambassador to deliver it on time; as it turned out, it was not delivered until more than an hour after the attack started. The last section is sometimes referred to as a proclamation of war. Despite being perceived by a number of senior U.S. government and military officials as a very strong indicator that negotiations were likely to end and that war could start at any time, it neither declared war nor broke off diplomatic relations. However, the US government did not receive the declaration of war until the day after the attack. It was published on the front page of Japan's newspapers in the evening edition of December 8 (late December 7 in the US).
For many years, common belief held that Japan attacked without first officially severing diplomatic ties only as a result of mishaps and errors that caused the delivery of a document indicating war to Washington to be delayed. However, Takeo Iguchi, a professor of law and international relations at International Christian University in Tokyo, found documents in 1999 that indicated there had been a heated internal debate within the government about how—and even whether—to inform Washington of Japan's intention to end negotiations and start a war. One such document was a war diary entry from December 7 that stated, "Our deceptive diplomacy is steadily progressing toward success." Iguchi commented on this by saying, "The diary shows that the army and navy did not want to give any proper declaration of war, or even prior notice of the termination of negotiations... and they clearly prevailed."
1st Wave
Mitsuo Fuchida, the commander, launched the first attack wave, consisting of 183 aircraft, north of Oahu. Technical issues prevented six aircraft from taking off. There were three plane groups in the initial attack.
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2nd wave
171 aircraft made up the second planned wave, which was led by Lieutenant-Commander Shigekazu Shimazaki and included 54 B5Ns, 81 D3As, and 36 A6Ms. Technical issues prevented the launch of four aeroplanes. Three groups of planes were also included in this wave and its targets.
Three groups made up the second wave. One was ordered to attack Kneohe, while the others were to defend Pearl Harbor. Separate sections arrived at the attack point from various directions almost simultaneously.
American losses
The attack damaged or destroyed twenty-one American ships, but all but three were repaired and put back into service.
Battleships
Ex battleship
Cruisers
Destroyers
Auxiliaries
USA's Revenge
The Revenge is Known as Doolittle raid The Doolittle Raid, also referred to as the Tokyo Raid, was an American airstrike on Tokyo, the capital of Japan, and other locations on the island of Honshu on April 18, 1942, during World War II. It was the first time the Japanese archipelago had been attacked by American aircraft. The raid showed that the Japanese mainland was open to American air attacks despite the relatively minor damage it caused. It provided a crucial boost to American morale and served as an initial retaliation for the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Lieutenant Colonel James Doolittle planned, oversaw, and gave the raid its name (later a Lieutenant General in the US Army Air Forces and the US Air Force Reserve).
The final plan called for the US Navy aircraft carrier USS Hornet to launch 16 B-25B Mitchell medium bombers, each carrying a crew of five, into the Pacific Ocean off Japan. Escorts of fighters weren't present. The crews were instructed to fly westward until they reached China after bombing the military and industrial targets.
On the ground, the raid left 400 people injured and about 50 dead. Although there was little physical damage to Japanese military and industrial targets, the raid had a profound psychological impact. It improved morale in the United States. The bombing and strafing of civilians hardened the Japanese resolve to exact revenge, which was exploited for propaganda. In Japan, it raised fear and doubt about the ability of military leaders to defend the home islands. The raid accelerated Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto's plans to attack Midway Island in the Central Pacific, which resulted in a resounding US Navy victory over the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) in the Battle of Midway. China suffered the most from the Doolittle Raid's effects because, in retaliation, the Japanese started the Zhejiang-Jiangxi campaign, which resulted in the deaths of 70,000 soldiers and 250,000 civilians.
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