A dazzling blue Hawaiian sky stretched over the tropical green islands that Sunday morning. Only a few clouds persistently clung to the mountain slopes. In the other hemisphere of the Earth, battles raged, the Germans rushed to Moscow. In Washington, the Japanese embassy was working to decipher a secret document. The entire East Indies were waiting for the Japanese invasion.
The unapproachable US Navy base, lost in the middle of the ocean, was getting ready to have a fun weekend. And who cares what marks there appeared on the radar screen. Privates Lockard and Elliot turned off the radar and drove off to breakfast.
Thus began the war in the Pacific. Few of us know what happened in Southeast Asia between Pearl Harbor and Hiroshima. Surely someone will remember the kamikaze. But what kind of channel was Guadal, only those who are seriously interested in history will be able to answer.
Indeed, from the point of view of the history of naval battles, the Pacific theater of operations is of considerable interest. Huge squadrons fought for scraps of land in the middle of the Great Ocean. Powerful battleships plowed the seas, and hundreds of aircraft rushed towards each other from the decks of aircraft carriers.
My plane is buzzing
It's hard for my plane.
I'd rather Pearl Harbor.
Entire libraries of books have been written about the battleship pogrom in Pearl Bay. Today is not an anniversary, so there is no point in repeating hackneyed truths and boring readers with well-known facts. Although … like any significant event, Pearl Harbor contains many interesting moments: for example, at 9:30 am, when Japanese planes were still circling over the devastated base, a newspaper was already on sale in Honolulu (the capital of Hawaii) with a huge headline: “Japanese planes are bombing Pearl Harbor !
Unlike the all-powerful American reporters, the American military showed its complete incompetence: the squadron of Admiral Drummel, sent in search of the enemy, was discovered by aircraft of the aircraft carrier "Enterprise" and was mistaken for Japanese ships. Dramel was immediately informed about the detection of the enemy and he began to search in a given square … himself.
The anti-aircraft gunners especially distinguished themselves: the next night a group of American fighters was shot down over Ford Island. All the ships received the strictest order: “Don't shoot! They are in the air,”but as soon as the pilots turned on the side lights, they were hit from below from all the trunks. The sailors were jubilant: at last the Japanese got what they deserved.
Actually, an occasion - another series of a naval detective about carrier-based aircraft - served as an occasion to recall the events long past. For me, Pearl Harbor is interesting as another fact of the successful use of aircraft carriers. At first glance, there is nothing unusual here - you never know the battleships sunk deck planes! Yamato, Ise, Musashi … 20 plywood Suordfish blew the Taranto naval base to shreds, sinking three battleships (despite the fact that Vittorio and Dulio were subsequently raised and rebuilt, there is every reason to believe that their damage were fatal, the ships sank off the coast). A single torpedo damaged the Bismarck's steering, preventing the German monster from escaping just retribution.
As for the less protected ships, the statistics there are even more impressive: the Italian cruiser Pola, the light cruiser Königsberg, the Japanese cruisers Mikuma, Chokai, Suzuya, Chikuma … the cruisers Dorsetshire and Cornwell. How not to recall the pogrom at the naval base on the island of Truk - American pilots sank 10 Japanese warships and more than 30 transports, helpless in the face of massive attacks by carrier-based aircraft.
Paradoxically, carrier-based aircraft regularly sunk … aircraft carriers. It is fair to say that these were some of the most difficult targets - breaking through enemy air patrols, aircraft often suffered catastrophic losses. Heavy aircraft carriers Akagi, Kaga, Zuikaku, Lexington, Hornet, Yorktown; lighter aircraft carrier ships "Princeton", "Hermes", "Soryu", "Shoho" … They all became victims of their "colleagues".
All to take off
Going back to Pearl Harbor, why is this operation interesting? First of all, this is the rare case when aircraft carriers have demonstrated their ultimate capabilities. According to statistics, in many naval battles, carrier-based aircraft rarely managed to make a large number of sorties - the planes destroyed the enemy too quickly. Another reason was the tactics of using aircraft carrier ships - they were brought into large groups, under the cover of a numerous escort of battleships, cruisers and destroyers (although it is not yet known who covered whom: carrier-based aircraft did not allow the enemy to come close). 10 aircraft carriers is a sufficient number to cover the landing area or massive strikes along the coast, but clearly excessive for any naval battle. To intercept the super-battleship Yamato, American aircraft carriers sent a quarter of their aircraft. But even this turned out to be too much - the largest warship on the planet sank two hours later.
Things were different at Pearl Harbor. The Japanese had little strength, but the goal was great - the entire garrison of the island of Oahu: a large naval base, with its own infrastructure, airfields, oil storage facilities, hundreds of ships and aircraft. Admiral Yamamoto expected his falcons to destroy everything on the island, killing half of the Japanese pilots.
Japan's main hope is six aircraft carrier ships:
- 2 heavy aircraft carriers "Akagi" and "Kaga" - former battle cruisers, laid down in 1920-1921, but completed as aircraft carriers. Despite the huge displacement (40 thousand tons), the ships did not differ in a rational layout and carried a small air group for their size. At the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Akagi carried 64 fighters, bomber and torpedo bomber, and the Kaga carried 72 aircraft. Also, on each ship, a dozen reserve aircraft were stored in disassembled form, but, of course, they did not take part in the attack.
- 2 heavy aircraft carriers "Zuikaku" and "Shokaku". The two most powerful ships of the squadron, thoroughbred aircraft carriers, the pride of the Imperial Japanese Navy. There are 72 winged aircraft on board each.
- 2 aircraft carriers "Soryu" and "Hiryu". Despite their modest size, both ships acted on a par with the "older" ones. Air group each - 54 aircraft.
Also, the strike group included 2 battleships, 3 cruisers, 9 destroyers and 8 tankers (after all, the target was 4,000 nautical miles from the coast of Japan).
Formidable, at first glance, the squadron actually did not have a clear quantitative advantage - the Americans had more than 200 army aircraft on the island, excluding the Lexington and Enterprise aircraft groups, as well as a huge number of ships and submarines. The Japanese operation was a pure gamble - in case of early detection, all plans to attack Pearl Harbor collapsed like a house of cards. And in a more severe case, this could lead to the death of the Japanese squadron.
But everything happened as it should have happened: the aircraft carriers secretly went to the calculated point and the first wave - only 183 aircraft - rushed towards dawn. These were 49 torpedo bombers, 91 bombers and 43 Zero fighters (a total of 189 aircraft were preparing for the attack, but six - 2 of each type - could not take off for technical reasons).
For me, this is the most curious moment of the whole history: 6 aircraft carriers were able to lift 183 aircraft into the air in a short time! Each heavy aircraft carrier sent 35-40 aircraft into battle, the light Soryu and Hiryu - 25 aircraft each.
An hour later, at 7.15 in the morning, the planes of the second wave went off to take off - 167 aircraft, including 132 bombers and 34 cover fighters. The record holder was the heavy aircraft carrier Zuikaku - 44 aircraft took off from it.
Surprisingly, 350 carrier-based aircraft took off in just a couple of hours! It should be noted that prepared vehicles went into the attack, with full combat load and a full supply of fuel. As gifts to the Americans, Japanese aircraft carried 800-kg armor-piercing bombs, 457-mm aircraft torpedoes and other bulky structures.
At approximately 10 am, aircraft of the first wave began to return to the ships. The joyful pilots shared vivid impressions and vied with each other about their "exploits". Samurai, characteristic of their arrogance, again rushed into battle. According to Mitsuo Fuchida, the commander of the first shock wave, the technicians, despite the absence of any instructions, quickly prepared the aircraft for the next flight. There are still many targets left on the island. Everyone was eagerly awaiting the order and were very disappointed when at one o'clock in the afternoon the aircraft carriers turned around and lay on the return course. Later, Admiral Yamamoto, who was at that time in Tokyo, repeatedly said that it was a big mistake - it was necessary to bring the matter to the end.
As a result, we have an eloquent fact: the air wing of each heavy aircraft carrier performed 70-80 sorties that morning. And this was not the limit - the Japanese had the opportunity to repeat the raid. Obviously, 150 sorties is the maximum number of sorties per day for aircraft carriers during the Second World War. The same number of sorties could be provided by heavy aircraft carriers of the Essex class.
Of course, one can argue that the Japanese, with their characteristic accuracy, carefully prepared for this operation and, for sure, more than once practiced the massive takeoff of aircraft and their coordination in flight. But it should also be taken into account that the new Essexes were larger and more perfect than the Japanese ships: there were more tractors, lifts on their decks, the flight deck itself was more spacious, there was a more perfect refueling system, multi-channel communications and radars for airspace control, and the main thing is that they carried more aircraft.
The legend of the well-aimed anti-aircraft gunners
One of the key stories of the Pacific War was the confrontation between ships and aircraft. I would like to add a few words on this topic. In previous articles, readers have repeatedly resented the quality of Japanese anti-aircraft artillery - despite the presence of hundreds of anti-aircraft guns, the same odious battleship Yamato barely shot down 5 aircraft in two hours of continuous combat. Indeed, as practice shows, the effectiveness of anti-aircraft fire depended not so much on the number of anti-aircraft guns, but on the fire control systems.
The Japanese 25-mm Type 96 assault rifles received many negative reviews. Just a few facts about this weapon to dispel speculation. "Type 96" were often made in the form of a paired or triple automatic anti-aircraft gun, while, in contrast to the famous "Erlikons", they all had electric guidance drives. It is striking that each built installation was serviced by as many as 9 people: the commander, two loaders for each barrel and two gunners (in azimuth and in height) - and after that the Japanese complained that they did not have time to turn the barrels of the guns!
This is where the positive factors end and a solid negative begins: food was supplied from 15-round magazines, which at least halved the rate of fire (the technical rate of fire of each barrel was 200 rds / min.). The Japanese noted such a drawback, invisible to the naked eye, as a significant vibration of the installation during firing, the projectile had a low muzzle velocity (although … 900 m / s - in comparison with analogues, it looks quite acceptable).
Of course, it was a very imperfect weapon with many flaws, but it would be unfair to argue that the "rattle" of Japanese anti-aircraft guns was completely useless. A striking example: 84% of the losses of Soviet aviation in Afghanistan were not at all from the Stingers, but from the fire of the DShK and small-caliber artillery. But the 25 mm Japanese anti-aircraft gun is not a 12.7 mm machine gun …
“Comrade captain, allow me to report!
The shooting practice is over, the target is not hit, but it is very frightened."
Well, now we are familiar with the Japanese situation, and concluded that the Japanese air defense system left much to be desired. Now let's see how things were with the air defense on the ships of the US Navy, and how much it helped the Americans. There is an opinion that if such air defense systems were on Japanese ships - uhh, the samurai would set the heat on the Yankee planes!
In fact, at that time the Americans managed to create one of the most advanced naval air defense systems, which was based on three "whales": the Mark-12 127 mm artillery mount, the Mark-37 fire control system (FCS) and projectiles with radio fuses.
The universal installation Mark-12 was put into service in 1934 and was nothing special - the usual five-inch gun. The ballistic characteristics of the gun did not cause enthusiasm, the only positive quality was the rate of fire of 15 rds / min, there were cases when experimental calculations were made at 22 shots per minute - a lot for a gun of this caliber. But this was not the main focus … All the Mark-12 guns installed on American ships were centrally guided to the target, receiving data from the radars of the Mark-37 fire control system - an advanced complex by the standards of that time.
And the last know-how is a radio fuse. Hundreds of millions of dollars were spent on the development of this electronic device! The idea is simple: a miniature transceiver installed inside the projectile emits high-frequency radio waves into space, and when a strong reflected signal is received, a trigger is instantly triggered - the target is destroyed. The main problem was the creation of miniature radio tubes capable of withstanding the loads when fired from the gun barrel.
In view of such a grandiose work to create an effective air defense system, American anti-aircraft gunners spent only two to three hundred shells with radio fuses on one downed Japanese aircraft. Shocking? And the usual shells required about 1000! And this is the most advanced naval air defense system of those years! With radars and ballistic computers!
Usually, the achievement of the battleship South Dakota on October 26, 1942 is cited as a "record" - in that battle, the battleship shot down 26 of the 50 Japanese aircraft that attacked the formation. A phenomenal result - usually planes sink ships with impunity! Upon closer examination, it turns out that the 26 downed aircraft are the results of the anti-aircraft gunners of the entire American formation, including the aircraft carrier Enterprise and a dozen destroyers (and on each - the ominous Mark-37 SLA!). In addition, the mere mention of the aircraft carrier causes mistrust of the official data - there must have been air patrols in the air, which made their contribution to these "26 aircraft shot down by the battleship." In the future, the Americans never managed to repeat the record, another case is also indicative: the anti-aircraft artillery of the battleship Missouri could not repel the attack of two kamikaze in 1945.- one plane broke through a wall of anti-aircraft fire and collapsed on impact on the battleship's hull.
Leader's feat Tashkent
Remember the painting by Aivazovsky "Brig" Mercury "attacked by two Turkish ships"? Russian "Mercury" then shot both. On June 27, 1942, the leader of the Black Sea Fleet "Tashkent" visited the sea fortune - despite the many hours of attacks by German aviation and 332 dropped bombs, the ship still remained afloat, while managing to shoot down 4 of the 96 Junkers that attacked it. Only one bomb hit "Tashkent" and it didn't explode! This is actually a rare, amazing, incredible case - usually the squadrons of ships sink within a few minutes after the start of the raid. And here - the only one overgrown destroyer, devoid of any reservation, withstood all the attacks, and, snapping hard, came out of the battle victorious.
What helped the Soviet sailors? Case, only case. And also a favorable combination of various circumstances. Firstly, high speed - even when overloaded, “Tashkent” developed 33 knots (60 km / h!). Secondly, the modest dimensions - length 140 m, width - 14 m. For comparison, the dimensions of the battleship "Yamato" are 2 times larger - it is difficult to miss such a whopper! The unsuccessful tactics of the Germans gave some advantage - the Junkers attacked in separate pairs. And most importantly - the clear and well-coordinated actions of his team - even with a damaged steering, the "Tashkent" continued to evade death flying from the sky, writing unprecedented zigzags on the water.
Finally, the ship's air defense turned out to be unexpectedly effective: one paired 76 mm anti-aircraft gun, six 37 mm rapid-fire anti-aircraft guns, six large-caliber machine guns - dozens of such systems were on the Japanese destroyers by the end of the war, but aviation destroyed them like cans. And then something incredible happened.
Still, miracles do not happen - the body of "Tashkent" has lost its tightness from numerous nearby explosions. The destroyers of the Black Sea Fleet found the ship in a grave condition - disabled, half-flooded, with broken mechanisms, but with a fearless crew that continued to fight for the life of their ship, Tashkent did not dare, had no right to sink - there were still 2000 civilians evacuated from Sevastopol. And from the cellars of the leader, in a strange way, anti-aircraft ammunition disappeared - the Red Navy men shot everything, down to the last bullet.
