On Sunday morning, December 7, 1941, Japan launched a surprise attack on the United States of America, attacking with carrier-based aircraft the main base of the US Pacific Fleet, Pearl Harbor, located on one of the Hawaiian Islands - Oahu.
The formation of the aircraft carriers of Admiral Nagumo began to prepare for the operation in the summer of 1941. On November 26, 1941, it left Hitokappu Bay, the southern tip of Iturup Island and, observing a radio silence mode, turned towards Oahu through the northern waters of the Pacific Ocean, which ensured the achievement of surprise.
The basis of the strike force of the ships was made up of six heavy aircraft carriers: "Akagi", "Kaga", "Hiryu", "Soryu", "Zuikaku" and "Sekaku". In the open waters of the ocean, this armada received the last blessing from Tokyo - a radio message "Climb Mount Niitaka 1208", which, according to the secret code, meant: the attack will take place in the morning of December 7th. The attack ships stealthily left for the area designated for the lift of aircraft. In Pearl Harbor on this Sunday there were about a hundred ships and ships, including 8 battleships, the same number of cruisers and 29 destroyers. More than a third of the personnel rested on the shore.
On command, the crews of the first wave planes occupied the cockpits of the cars. The aircraft carriers turned against the wind and increased their speed. At 6 o'clock in the morning Hawaiian time, the first strike echelon, led by the commander of the aviation unit of the aircraft carrier "Akagi" Captain First Rank Fuchida, gained an altitude of 3000 meters. 183 combat aircraft in four strike groups headed for Pearl Harbor, 51 Aichi D3A dive bomber (later the Americans would give it their name - Val) with quarter-ton bombs and 89 Nakajima B5N2 carrier-based bombers (Keith), of which 40 aircraft had torpedoes on their suspensions, and 49 - 800-kilogram bombs.
Slightly to the side, providing cover, 43 Mitsubishi A6M (Zero) fighters were bearing.
An hour later, the cars of the second wave took off. It consisted of 80 D3A carrier-based dive bombers, 54 B5N2 bombers and 36 A6M fighters. This echelon was led by Captain 3rd Rank Simazaki.
The original naming system for aircraft adopted in Japan played a role along with the well-organized veil of secrecy by the Japanese around their own aviation. The American and British military knew surprisingly little about the power of the Air Force of the Land of the Rising Sun, and including about its deck vehicles. It was widely believed by the Allies at the time that Japan's aviation, although large enough, was mostly outdated and generally "second-rate." For such a "slight delusion" the Anglo-Saxons paid with thousands of lives.
Meanwhile, the basis of the aviation of the Japanese Navy was made up of very sophisticated combat vehicles. The oldest of the Pearl Harbor raids were B5N2 Nakajima B5N2 carrier-based bombers, which began arriving on ships in 1937. By the early forties, he was, without a doubt, still the best carrier-based torpedo bomber in the world. Equipped with a 1115 hp motor. with a variable pitch propeller, equipped with a retractable landing gear and Fowler flaps, with solid armament, including one 794-kilogram torpedo or three 250-kilogram bombs. After Pearl Harbor, this three-seater vehicle will destroy four American aircraft carriers in less than a year with daring torpedo attacks!
Aichi's D3A two-seater dive bomber was adopted by the Japanese Navy in 1939. It was made according to the scheme of a single-engine cantilever monoplane with a fixed landing gear and underwing brake flaps. The D3A was powered by a 1,280 hp engine. with. In terms of its characteristics and concept, it was close to the German Ju-87, already famous all over the world, and in terms of dive bombing accuracy, it even surpassed the German car. It was the D3A aircraft that later sank the British cruisers Cornwall and Dorsetshire less than 15 minutes after the start of the raid. At the final stage of the war, already obsolete aircraft were used as a flying bomb, piloted by suicide bombers.
Finally, the basis of the Japanese naval air groups was the small Mitsubishi A6M fighter of the Mitsubishi company, which later became the well-known Zero. This aircraft was accepted into service in 1940, and by the time being described, less than four hundred machines had been produced. Most of the modifications are 21 equipped with a radial engine with a capacity of 925 hp. with. With a top speed of 538 km / h, and armament consisting of two rapid-firing 20-mm cannons and a pair of 7, 9-mm machine guns, excellent maneuverability, this carrier-based fighter had no equal in the skies of the Pacific Ocean until the beginning of 1943. In addition to excellent speed and maneuverability data, he also had a huge flight range, which exceeded 2, 4 thousand kilometers.
Of course, these Japanese aircraft also had certain drawbacks. For example, their fuel tanks were unprotected, the pilot was not protected by armor. But in general, in terms of flight performance, Japanese aircraft were advanced for that time.
For most of the flight, thick clouds hung over the ocean. However, closer to the island of Oahu, the clouds began to thin out and over Pearl Harbor almost completely dissipated. At 0749 hours, Captain Fuchida gave the command to his group: "Attack!" Torpedo bombers rushed down, and cover fighters dispersed and prepared to repel US interceptors. A group of dive bombers began to climb, and those vehicles that had 800-kilogram bombs on their suspension made a wide loop in order to attack from the south-western direction with the last.
First of all, the Japanese launched a preemptive strike at the Wheeler Field army airfield. As a result of a quick assault strike, all 60 brand new P40s, lined up in even rows at the airfield, turned into flaming torches. At 7 hours 53 minutes, inflamed with a premonition of victory, Fuchida ordered the radio operator to give Nagumo the conditional signal "Tora … Tora … Tora", which, according to the secret code, meant: "The surprise attack succeeded!"
The main target of the Japanese pilots was the heavy ships of the US Navy - battleships and aircraft carriers. Unfortunately for the Japanese, there were no aircraft carriers in the bay at that time, so the entire blow fell on the battleships. Six powerful ships, stationed in pairs along the east coast of Ford Island, became the main prey - a "tidbit" for torpedo bombers. The battleship West Virginia, standing in the center, was hit by seven torpedoes in the side in a few minutes of the raid. Even for a huge battleship, this was more than enough! And although the two bombs that fell into it did not explode, nothing could have changed: the ship, which quickly gained water, went to the bottom, taking 105 crew members with it.
But even earlier than this happened, the battleship "Arizona" was hit by four bombs from dive bombers, and its side was hit by a torpedo. The ensuing monstrous explosion of detonated ammunition and boilers threw a cloud of fire and smoke to a height of 1000 meters. As a result, almost the entire crew died - 1,100 sailors were killed on the spot.
A pair of torpedoes hit the Oklahoma, and the dive bombers missed and dropped several bombs that exploded near the port side. Fires broke out on the battleship, complicating the struggle for the survivability of the ship. As a result, the Oklahoma capsized and sank. It took over 400 people to the next world. In fact, it turned out that only two light aircraft torpedoes were enough for the death of the huge American battleship.
Covered by the hulls of their dying brothers, the battleships Tennessee and Maryland were damaged only by aerial bombs, which did not become fatal. The pilots of the Land of the Rising Sun planted a pair of torpedoes in the detached battleship California, and the third exploded near the side, hitting the quay wall. The burning California was also the target of several dive bombers, but after that it continued to stay afloat for another three days, after which it sank, taking with it more than a hundred crew members.
Only one battleship was able to set in motion. It was Nevada. Having earned a torpedo in the side, the ship, however, was not very badly damaged. After a while, all of his anti-aircraft guns, machine guns and universal caliber guns opened barrage. The battleship commander, realizing that the huge stationary ship was an excellent target for the next strikes, decided to take the Nevada out to sea. By the time the second wave of attacking aircraft approached, the battleship was slowly moving along the fairway, heading for the exit from the harbor. Captain Fuchida immediately recognized his intention and ordered the dive bombers to sink the Nevada at the exit, thus blocking the harbor. One after another, five 250-kilogram armor-piercing bombs hit the battleship. But there were six explosions, as gasoline vapors for airborne reconnaissance aircraft detonated. A gigantic flame engulfed the Nevada, and the ship's commander ordered the battleship to be thrown onto the beach.
The eighth battleship of the US Pacific Fleet, the flagship Pennsylvania, was docked with the destroyers Downs and Cassin. Thick smoke from the fires hid him from the first Japanese "wave", and he escaped damage. However, Fuchida was able to make out these ships. Rushing into the attack, the Japanese pilots of the second strike echelon encountered much more serious resistance. Everything that could shoot into the sky fired, from the universal guns of battleships and cruisers to the personal weapons of the Marines. Naturally, the fire was erratic and inaccurate. There were even those who fired into the air with their eyes closed. But, anti-aircraft fire still reduced the accuracy of bombing. Pennsylvania was hit by only two bombs. But on the other hand, the destroyers got it in full: the blast wave threw them off the keelblocks and piled on each other. Destroyer Shaw had the hardest time. He "received" as many as three bombs, and the explosion of the artillery cellars put an end to his story.
West of Ford Island, the light cruisers Tangier, Rayleigh and Detroit, the former battleship Utah, which had been converted into a target ship, froze while anchored. As a result of the raid, "Utah" capsized and sank. The cruiser "Relay" received a torpedo to the port side. The minelayer "Oglala", hit by a torpedo, quickly sank. However, he saved the cruiser Helena, as he covered it with his hull. As a result, the cruiser, which had already had one torpedo hit, remained afloat.
Japanese dive bombers destroyed flying boats and their hangars at the southern tip of the island. Ford. And "the last samurai greetings" was a direct hit of an aerial bomb on the floating base of seaplanes "Curtiss".
The Japanese lost only 29 aircraft, including 9 Aichi D3A Aichi D3A dive bombers, Nakajima B5N2 bombers and five Mitsubishi A6M fighters. 55 crew members did not return to aircraft carriers. It is worth remembering that before the raid on about. Oahu was based on over 300 serviceable American combat aircraft, and this is almost a double superiority, and in fighters in general, multiple times. Where was the base's air defense system?
At about 7 o'clock in the morning on December 7, the radar station located on Mount Opana is about. Oahu recorded massive screen flares from a large group of aircraft moving towards the island from the north-east. At 7 o'clock 6 minutes it was reported to the air defense information post, and then … Further, as usual. Imagine a young officer at the end of a sleepless night watch. Moreover, his duties and rights were not specific. Further, in the air defense system, one part of which was subordinate to the fleet, and the other to the army. And between these parts, due to the usual disdainful attitude in the United States between the "naval" and "land", there was no mutual understanding.
It should also be added that the duty officer was disoriented by the planned arrival on the island this morning of a squadron of four-engine B-17 bombers and by the aircraft carrier Enterprise on the way to the island and reconnaissance planes rising from it. It is also impossible to ignore the full measure of responsibility in the event of a false alarm. And the young lieutenant made a mistake. “It's okay,” he told the radar operator. "These are ours." But if he had decided to interrogate the approaching aircraft by radio communication, he would have received a response from the crews of the B-17 bombers, which were already in the air.
Japanese pilots simultaneously attacked the ships and attacked the airfield of the Eva naval aviation, as well as the Hickham Field army bombers base. Nearly 20 Japanese A6M Zeros stormed the planes that were parked in Ewe in open areas, and in just a few minutes destroyed 30 American aircraft. And in Hickham Field, twelve B-17 bombers, as many A-20 and B-24 bombers, as well as about 30 outdated B-18 bombers were burned on the ground.
At the Haleiwa airfield, at this time, only one squadron of fighters was stationed. That is why he was ignored by the Japanese. Lieutenants Welch and Tylor took off from its strip. According to their report, in the vicinity of the Wheeler Field airfield, they managed to overwhelm 7 enemy aircraft out of 11 shot down on the morning of December 7 over Oahu.
One of the groups of Japanese fighters, making sure that there were no American fighters in the air, rushed to the Kaneohe seaplane base. Having made several calls, they destroyed three dozen RV.1 seaplanes.
The last airfield to be hit by the first wave was Bellows Field, an army fighter base. Four P40s managed to take off from it, which were soon shot down by more experienced A6M Zero pilots. Then, during the attack, the Japanese burned American fighters standing at the airfield.
The Japanese fighters also had the opportunity to practice shooting at flying targets. At the end of the operation, they noticed huge four-engined B-17s from the squadron that had flown over from the mainland. Helplessly circling over the airfields torn apart by explosions, they had no opportunity to fight off the attacking fighters: their onboard machine guns, carefully oiled, were packed in factory boxes. They could not even fly away, since the fuel was already running out. Only two "fortresses" remained intact, but they could not be used either: all the fuel storage facilities burned down, there was nothing to refuel.
And half an hour later the sad fate of the bombers was shared by a squadron of reconnaissance aircraft that took off from the deck of the aircraft carrier "Enterprise". The pilot of one of them managed to send a warning radiogram to his aircraft carrier. The Enterprise turned southeast, but the reconnaissance planes were not destined to leave. The Japanese shot down three of them over the sea, and one over the island. The fate of the fifth was even more sad. He was shot down by US destroyers, whose crazed crews began firing at any flying object, not figuring out where theirs were, where the strangers were. The madness continued after the end of the Japanese attack. In the second half of the day two planes from the same "Enterprise" were shot down by gallant American infantrymen with bursts from their machine guns.
This day cost America 3 thousand human lives, 300 different planes and a whole line fleet.
