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On Sunday morning, December 7, 1941, Japanese aircraft dealt a crushing blow to the American base in Hawaii. In two hours, the US Pacific Fleet was destroyed, more than 2,400 people died.

The next day, President Roosevelt, speaking in Congress, declared that this day "will go down in history as a symbol of shame." A day later, the United States joined the Second world war. What happened on December 7 at Pearl Harbor: a surprise attack or a carefully planned government conspiracy?

The two-hour attack on Pearl Harbor Bay ("Pearl Bay") not only influenced the course of the war, but also changed world history. Volumes of military, historical and popular literature have been written about this episode (it cannot be called a battle or a battle), documentaries and feature films have been shot. However, historians and conspiracy theorists are still looking for answers to the questions: how did it happen that the Americans were not ready for a Japanese attack? Why were the losses so great? Who is to blame for what happened? Did the President know about the coming invasion? Did he specifically do nothing to draw the country into hostilities?

"PURPLE" CODE: the secret becomes clear

In favor of the existing conspiracy is the fact that by the summer of 1940 the Americans "cracked" the secret diplomatic cipher of the Japanese, called "Purple". This allowed American intelligence to track all the messages of the Japanese General Staff. Thus, all secret correspondence was an open book for the Americans. What did they learn from the ciphers?

Aerial view of the battleships in the first minutes after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, December 7, 1941. (US Navy photo)

Messages intercepted in the autumn of 1941 indicate that the Japanese were indeed up to something. On September 24, 1941, a cipher from the Japanese Naval Intelligence Directorate sent to the consul in Honolulu was read in Washington, in which squares were requested for the exact location of US warships in Pearl Harbor.

At that time, the Japanese were negotiating with the United States, trying to prevent or at least delay the outbreak of war between the two countries. In one of the secret messages, the Japanese Foreign Minister urged the negotiators to resolve the problems with the United States by November 29, otherwise, the cipher said, "events will happen automatically." And already on December 1, 1941, after the negotiations failed, the military intercepted a report in which the Japanese ambassador in Berlin informed Hitler of the extreme danger of war, "approaching faster than one might think."

By the way, it is interesting that some headquarters of military units received machines for decoding the "Purple" code, but for some reason Pearl Harbor did not get such a machine ...

"FLYING TIGERS": THE PATH TO WAR

One of the most important questions concerns the role of the government and President Roosevelt. Was he trying to provoke the Japanese into attacking the US in order to gain the support of the American population for his war plans?

As you know, relations with the Japanese began to deteriorate long before Pearl Harbor. In 1937, Japan sank an American warship in China on the Yangtze River. Both countries made public attempts at negotiations, but Roosevelt delivered several unacceptable ultimatums to the Japanese negotiators and openly loaned money to the Chinese Nationalists, whom the Japanese were at war with at the time.

On June 23, 1941, the day after the German attack on the USSR, the Minister of the Interior and presidential aide, Harold Ickes, submitted a memorandum to the President, in which he indicated that “the imposition of an embargo on oil exports to Japan can be an effective way to start a conflict. And if, thanks to this step, we indirectly get involved in a world war, then we will avoid criticism in the complicity of communist Russia. Which is what was done. A month later, Roosevelt froze the financial assets of the "Asian tiger" in the United States.

However, President Roosevelt was against a full embargo. He wanted to tighten the screws, but not for good, but only, as he himself put it, "for a day or two." His goal was to keep Japan in a state of maximum uncertainty, but not to push her to the abyss. The President believed that he could use oil as a tool of diplomacy, and not as a trigger that could be pulled to unleash a massacre.

Meanwhile, the Americans began to actively help China. In the summer, the Flying Tigers aviation group was sent to the Celestial Empire, which acted against the Japanese as part of the army of President Chiang Kai-shek. Although these pilots were officially considered volunteers, they were hired by US military bases.

The income of these strange aviators was five times higher than the salary of ordinary American pilots. Politician and publicist Patrick Buchanan believes that "they were sent to fight Japan months before Pearl Harbor as part of a secret operation that came from the White House and from President Roosevelt personally."

KNOW OR DID NOT KNOW?

Provoking the Japanese, reading all the reports transmitted by intelligence, President Roosevelt could not remain completely ignorant of the impending attack on Pearl Harbor. Here are just a few facts that prove the awareness of the highest person.

On November 25, 1941, Secretary of War Stimson wrote in his diary that Roosevelt had spoken of a possible attack within coming days and asked, “how should we get them into the first strike position so that the damage is not too devastating for us? Despite the risk, we will allow the Japanese to carry out the first strike. The government understands that the full support of the American people is needed so that no one is left in doubt about Japan's aggressive intentions."

On November 26, US Secretary of State K. Hull presented the Japanese representative with a note proposing to withdraw troops from all countries South-East Asia. In Tokyo, this proposal was considered an American ultimatum. Soon, a powerful aircraft carrier squadron, located in the Kuril Islands, received an order to weigh anchor and begin moving towards the target in radio silence. And the goal was... the Hawaiian Islands.
On December 5, Roosevelt wrote to the Australian Prime Minister: “The Japanese must always be reckoned with. Perhaps the next 4-5 days will solve this problem.

And what about Pearl Harbor? Was the command of the military base in "happy ignorance"? A few weeks before the attack, on November 27, 1941, General Marshall sent the following cipher to Pearl Harbor: “Hostile action is likely at any moment. If military action cannot be avoided, then the US wants Japan to be the first to use force."

Airfield at the US Navy base on Ford Island. In the background you can see the flames from the burning of ships after the Japanese attack, December 7, 1941. (US Navy photo):

DAY OF SHAME

It turns out that the army, navy and the ruling circles knew everything perfectly well and prepared for the attack in advance. However, what happened on December 7, 1941 in Zhemchuzhnaya Bay can be called, in the words of Marshal Zhukov, "ignoring the clear threat of attack."

The day before the attack, another Japanese cipher was read, from which it became known that war was inevitable. How did “important and interested persons” react?

Roosevelt telephoned the commander of the fleet, Admiral Stark, but he was in the theater and was not disturbed. The next morning in Washington they learned exact time attacks - 07:30 December 7, Hawaiian time. There were 6 hours left. Admiral Stark wanted to call the commander of the Pacific Fleet, but decided to report to the President first. Roosevelt received Stark after 10:00, the meeting began, but the president's personal doctor came and took him away for procedures. We consulted without the president and at 12:00 we left for lunch.

The Chief of Staff of the US Army, General Marshall, did not want to interrupt the morning horseback ride and did not appear at work until 11:25. He also decided not to call Hawaii, but sent an encrypted telegram, instructing him to transmit it through an army radio station. There was radio interference in Hawaii, so the telegram was taken to a commercial telegraph, forgetting to mark it as "urgent". At the Hawaiian post office, the telegram was thrown into a box, where she waited for the messenger (by the way, a Japanese), who regularly took all the mail for the American fleet. The messenger carefully handed her over to headquarters three hours after the Japanese sank the American fleet.

At Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 at 07:02, two soldiers on radar spotted Japanese aircraft 250 km from the island. By direct telephone they tried to report this to the headquarters, but no one answered there. Then they contacted the lieutenant on duty by the city phone, who was in a hurry for breakfast and did not talk to them for a long time.

The soldiers turned off the radar and also left for breakfast. And two waves of aircraft taking off from Japanese aircraft carriers (40 torpedo bombers, 129 dive bombers and 79 fighters) were already flying up to Pearl Harbor Bay, where all the armored forces of the US Pacific Fleet were located - 8 battleships (for comparison: the USSR had only three of them, with during World War I). At 07:55 Japanese aircraft began to dive.

The commander of the Pacific Fleet, Admiral Kimmel, began to direct the battle right in his pajamas from the courtyard of his villa on the mountain. He received his first report from his wife, who was standing nearby in nightgown: "Looks like they hit the battleship Oklahoma!" - "I see it myself!" - confirmed the naval commander.
On American ships, the sailors only had breakfast, while the officers were still eating. Half the crew was on leave on shore, anti-aircraft guns sailors stood by. Five out of eight battleship commanders also had fun on the shore. The guns had no shells, and the keys to the shell stores could not be found. Finally, the armored doors of the storerooms were broken open, and in the confusion they began to shoot at the Japanese aircraft with training shells. When Kimmel was brought to the headquarters, there, according to an eyewitness, there was no panic. “Ordered horror” reigned there.

Japanese bomber over Pearl Harbor

At 09:45 the Japanese left. Summed up. All 8 battleships were disabled. The Japanese hoped to find aircraft carriers in the bay, but they were absent, so they bombed anything in a rage. Almost all of Pearl Harbor's aviation was destroyed: 188 aircraft burned down and 128 were damaged. 2,403 US troops were killed and 117 wounded. 40 explosions sounded in the city, killing 68 civilians, 35 were injured. Of these explosions, only one was a Japanese bomb, the remaining 39 were American anti-aircraft shells.

The Japanese lost 29 aircraft and 55 men...

CONSEQUENCES

Yet, despite all the evidence, explicit and implicit, it is impossible to prove that there was a conspiracy, because Washington did not order a reduction in the level of alert on the eve of the attack. And this is a fact.

The consequences of the attack on Pearl Harbor were more than important for both American and world history.

The attack served as an impetus for Hitler's declaration of war on the United States, and, consequently, for the unconditional inclusion of all American economic, industrial, financial, organizational, scientific, technical and military power in the cause of war. The attack on Pearl Harbor was one of the reasons (it's hard to say how important) the use of atomic weapons against Japan.

We can add another, perhaps the most important consequence of this attack - it opened a new chapter in everything related to US participation and intervention in all conflicts in the world.

Anastasia GROSS

 /  / 21.36194; -157.95361(G) (I)Coordinates : 21°21′43″ s. sh. 157°57′13″ W d. /  21.36194° N sh. 157.95361° W d./ 21.36194; -157.95361(G) (I) Upstream water areaPacific Ocean The countryUSA USA RegionHawaii Typeharbor


Topographic map Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor K:Water objects in alphabetical order

Pearl Harbor before 1941

The purpose of the attack on Pearl Harbor was to neutralize the US Pacific Fleet in order to ensure freedom of action for the Japanese army and navy in Southeast Asia.

Pearl Harbor after World War II

Pearl Harbor is currently the largest US naval base in the Pacific and the headquarters of the US Pacific Fleet. The shipyard, located next to the harbor, employs 12,000 people.

In memory of the dead American sailors A memorial has been erected on the site of the sunken battleship Arizona. Another monument to the events of the war on pacific ocean is the battleship Missouri, located in the eternal parking lot in Pearl Harbor, on which the act of surrender of Japan was signed on September 2, 1945. Several films were made about this event: the American-Japanese “Tora! Torah! Torah! "(1970), the American "Pearl Harbor" (2001), the Japanese "Attack on Pearl Harbor" (2011), as well as the television series "Pacific Ocean" (2010).

see also

  • Operation Hillston (February 1944)

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Notes

Literature

  • Yakovlev N. N. Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941. Reality and fiction. M.: Politizdat, 1988.-286 p.: ill. ISBN 5-250-00448-2
  • Face G. The Road to Pearl Harbor: The Coming of the War Between the United States and Japan. 1950.

Links

It contains many bright pages that had a decisive impact on the course of hostilities and became the subject of detailed study. Japan's attack on the American naval base at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 can rightly be called one of these events, which became a landmark in history and determined the subsequent course of the military campaign in the Pacific.

Background of the attack

Japan's combined attack on the American navy directly at its base of deployment was the result of long and painstaking work by the Imperial General Staff. There are many answers to the question why the American naval base became the target of the attack. The main reason for the surprise attack lies in the desire of the Japanese to disable the American Pacific Fleet with one powerful blow. A successful attack would allow the Japanese armed forces to freely pursue subsequent expansion in the Asia-Pacific theater.

After the fall of France, Japan seized the opportunity and occupied Southern Indochina. In response to Japanese expansion, the United States and Great Britain imposed an oil embargo on oil exports to the Land of the Rising Sun. These economic sanctions seriously undermined the economic and industrial potential of Japan. The navy of this country was entirely dependent on oil exports, and such measures by America and their European allies hit the combat capability of the Japanese Empire hard. The Japanese began to feverishly look for a way out of the situation. The decision came by itself. The Japanese fleet, together with the army, was supposed to capture the rich oil fields islands of the Indonesian archipelago. Naturally, such a step could only be taken taking into account the probable reaction of the Americans to such actions. The presence of the American battle fleet at Pearl Harbor threatened Japanese rear communications.

An option was adopted that initially provided for the destruction of the potential threat in the form of US naval power in the Pacific. Further, with a favorable result, it was possible to proceed to the systematic occupation of the islands of the Dutch Indies. The Imperial Headquarters wanted to seize the initiative in order to further dictate its strategy for war and peace in this theater of operations.

It was possible to take the Americans out of the game and deprive them of the navy either as a result of a general naval battle or by a sudden strike. This position was held by the General Staff of the Land of the Rising Sun, however, the naval command considered its own naval forces not strong enough to achieve success in direct combat with the American battle fleet. Preference was given to inflicting a preventive strike on American forces directly at the fleet's deployment sites. In the spring of 1941, the entire US Pacific Fleet was relocated to the Hawaiian Islands, thereby taking control of the entire central Pacific, so Japan attacked Pearl Harbor not by chance. This was preceded by a number of military and political events that directly or indirectly influenced the balance of power in this region of the globe.

Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor

The main task that was set before the naval command of the Imperial Navy was to deliver a combined attack on the US Navy's parking lot in the Pacific Ocean in Pearl Harbor Bay. It was planned to attack American ships in two ways:

  • a blow from under the water, using mini-submarines for this;
  • blow naval aviation based on aircraft carriers.

The main goal of the Japanese military was American aircraft carriers. The submarine forces were entrusted with the task of secretly sneaking into the inner roadstead of the American base and being able to hit the most important American ships from a military point of view with torpedoes. Aviation was originally supposed to inflict a diversionary maneuver, attacking the air defense forces of the naval base. If necessary, the emphasis could shift to the actions of naval aviation, which was supposed to damage enemy ships at anchorages. The strike was supposed not only to reduce the combat effectiveness of the American fleet, but also to block the exit from the base for a long time, thereby depriving the Americans of the opportunity to bring their fleet into operational space. In order to understand the importance of the decision made by the Japanese and why the base in the Hawaiian Islands was chosen, it is enough to evaluate the location of the Pearl Harbor naval base on the map.

The forces of the parties before the start of the battle

A prominent role in the preparation of the attack on Pearl Harbor is assigned to Admiral Yamamoto, who built the entire Pacific strategy of the Imperial Navy. It was Yamamoto who was committed to the idea that the Japanese should attack first. The Japanese admiral inspired the idea of ​​a surprise attack by US Navy air forces on his main base. Admiral Nagumo was appointed the executor and commander of the operation. According to the estimates of the Japanese military, the main force that was able to complete the tasks was the Japanese aircraft carriers. To participate in the operation, it was planned to use all 6 aircraft carriers available at that time in the Imperial Navy.

The operation involved the best pilots, collected from all aviation units of the Navy. The number of aircraft assigned to participate in the raid was a huge figure - almost 400 units. The strike formations of naval aviation included Aichi D3A1 dive bombers (type "99"), Nakajima B5N2 torpedo bombers (type "97"). Japanese fighters Mitsubishi A6M2 (type "0"), known throughout the world as "Zero", were supposed to cover the attacking aircraft.

The naval component of the future operation consisted of cover ships and 30 submarines. Five of these submarines were miniature mini-submarines, operated by a crew of 2-3 people. The boats were supposed to be delivered to the place of attack by Japanese destroyers, after which the underwater vehicles had to independently penetrate the bay.

A large role in the success of the operation was assigned to the secrecy regime. For a strike force, a bypass route was laid to the place of the operation. Before the first planes took off from the decks of Japanese aircraft carriers, the Japanese squadron traveled more than one thousand miles. For all 10 days of the campaign, the Americans did not manage to find such a large formation of ships in the ocean, and they completely lost sight of the Japanese. Japanese aircraft carriers covered two battlecruisers, two heavy and one light cruiser. The escort of the formation was provided by 9 destroyers.

The command of the US Pacific Fleet, Admiral Kimmel and the high command up to the Committee of the Chiefs of Staff were completely unaware of the impending attack. At that time, all the main forces of the Pacific Fleet were in Pearl Harbor, including:

  • 8 battleships;
  • 2 heavy cruisers;
  • 6 light cruisers;
  • 30 destroyers and destroyers;
  • 5 submarines of various classes.

Air cover for the base was carried out by almost 400 aircraft.

Having such a large and powerful connection of sea and air force, the American command did not even assume the likelihood of a base attack from the sea. The absence of aircraft carriers at the base saved the Americans from catastrophic consequences and complete defeat. Three of the aircraft carriers in the fleet - "Saratoga", "Lexington" and "Enterprise" were some at sea, some were undergoing repairs on West coast USA. Information about how many aircraft carriers are in the harbor of Pearl Harbor, the Japanese missed. The battle took place mainly between American ships, the air defense forces of the naval base and Japanese naval aviation.

Launch of the attack on Pearl Harbor

The coded order received by Admiral Nagumo containing the phrase "Climb Mount Niitaka" meant that the attack on the Pacific Fleet's naval base Pearl Harbor was to take place on December 7th. This date became a landmark, determining the entire further course of the Second World War.

The Japanese ships were 230 miles north of Oahu when the first wave took off. The main striking force was 40 torpedo bombers, armed with torpedoes capable of hitting enemy ships in shallow water. Together with the torpedo bombers, another 49 aircraft were lifted into the air, each of which was armed with one 800 kg torpedo

As support for the torpedo bombers, 51 dive bombers equipped with 250 kg bombs took off with them. Cover was provided by 43 Zero fighters.

This whole air armada appeared over the island of Oahu at 7-50. Five minutes later, the first explosions were heard in the harbor of the naval base. At 08:00, Admiral Kimmel transmitted an emergency message in clear text to all ship commanders, commanders of the Asiatic and Atlantic fleets: "Air attack on ships is not an exercise." The surprise effect desired by the Japanese was achieved, although even on the way to the main base of the American fleet, Japanese aircraft carriers were noticed by American warships.

The American ships were concentrated in the small enclosed space of the inner raid. Battleships lined up as in a parade, one after another. Cruisers and destroyers stood huddled against each other at the quay wall. The large crowding of ships, the absence of half the crew on many ships and the early time of the attack turned the battle into a full-scale massacre. Japanese pilots went on the attack as in exercises, hitting American ships with torpedoes and bombs. Those ships that managed to avoid being hit by torpedoes tried to leave the harbor so as not to die in the inner roadstead. The main fighting force of the American Pacific Fleet, the battleships Oklahoma, California, West Virginia and Arizona were sunk. The battleships Tennessee and Nevada, which the Americans had to run aground when leaving Pearl Harbor Bay, were badly damaged.

In addition to the battle fleet, the Americans lost 4 destroyers and one hospital ship. Two cruisers received heavy damage. During the first attack, the Japanese pilots managed to paralyze the air defense of the American base, destroying 188 aircraft on the ground. Only the second wave of Japanese aircraft, which arrived to finish off the remnants of the defeated fleet, ran into organized resistance from American pilots.

The result of the attack on Pearl Harbor

As a result, the battle ended with the almost complete destruction of most of the battleships of the Pacific Fleet and severe damage to other warships. On water and on land, during the surprise attack by Japan, the Americans lost 2,403 people. Almost a third of all the dead were the crew the lost battleship"Arizona". Today, a memorial in Pearl Harbor Bay, erected at the site of the death of the Arizona, reminds of the past tragedy. After the Japanese attack, which cost the Japanese fleet 29 aircraft shot down and four mini-submarines sunk, the American fleet was forced to go on the defensive in the entire Pacific maritime theater for six months.

If you have any questions - leave them in the comments below the article. We or our visitors will be happy to answer them.

Oahu, Hawaii

Opponents

Side force commanders

Side forces

Pearl Harbor attack- a sudden combined attack by the Japanese carrier-based aircraft of the aircraft carrier formation of Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo and Japanese midget submarines delivered to the site of the attack by submarines of the Imperial Japanese Navy on the American naval and air bases located in the vicinity of Pearl Harbor on the island of Oahu (Hawaiian Islands), which occurred on Sunday morning December 7, 1941.

Background of the war

In 1932, large-scale exercises were held in the United States, during which the defense of the Hawaiian Islands from attack from the sea and air was practiced. Contrary to the expectations of the "defenders", Admiral Yarmouth left behind the cruisers and battleships and moved to Hawaii with only two fast aircraft carriers - USS Saratoga And USS Lexington. Being 40 miles from the target, he raised 152 aircraft, which "destroyed" all aircraft at the base and won complete air supremacy. However, the chief negotiator concluded that “delivering a powerful air strike against Oahu in the face of strong air power defending the island is highly doubtful. Aircraft carriers will be hit, and attacking aircraft will suffer big losses". The American command was not convinced by the results of similar exercises in 1937 and 1938, when carrier-based aircraft conditionally destroyed shipyards, airfields and ships.

The fact is that in the 30s the battleship was considered the main weapon at sea (and even in the political arena). The country that had this class of ships forced even such major powers as the USA and Great Britain to reckon with it. Both in the USA and even in Japan, which was inferior to a potential enemy in battleships, the idea dominated that the fate of the war would be decided in a pitched battle, where this class was assigned the main role. Aircraft carriers have already appeared in the fleets of these countries, but both sides assigned them, although an important, but a secondary role. Their task was to negate the advantage of the enemy's battle fleet.

November 11, 1940 aircraft from an English aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious inflicted, located in the harbor of Taranto. The result was the destruction of one and the disabling of two battleships.

It is not known exactly when the idea came to the Japanese to strike at Pearl Harbor. So, in 1927-1928, the then captain of the 2nd rank, who had just graduated from the college of the naval headquarters, Kusaka Ryunosuke, the future chief of staff of the 1st aircraft carrier fleet, began to work out an attack on the base in the Hawaiian Islands. Soon he was to lead an aviation course with a group of 10 important persons, among whom was Nagano Osami, for which he wrote a document in which he argued that the basis of the strategy for war with the United States was still a pitched battle with the entire American fleet. But if the enemy refuses to go to the open sea, Japan needs to seize the initiative, so a strike on Pearl Harbor is necessary, and it can only be carried out by air forces. This document was printed in an edition of 30 copies and, after the exclusion of direct references to America, it was sent to the command staff. It may well be that Yamamoto saw this document, and in his head the idea took on clearer forms, the results of American exercises convinced him, and the Taranto attack convinced even sworn opponents.

And although Yamamoto was against the war in general, and the conclusion of the Tripartite Pact in particular, he understood that the fate of Japan depended on how she would enter the war and how she would conduct it. Therefore, as a commander, he maximally prepared the fleet, especially the aircraft carrier, for hostilities, and when the war became inevitable, he put into practice the plan of attack of the US Pacific Fleet in Pearl Harbor harbor.

But it should be understood that not a single Yamamoto "had a hand" in this plan. When war with the US became almost apparent, he turned to Rear Admiral Kaijiro Onishi, Chief of Staff of the 11th Air Fleet. However, he had at his disposal ground-based aircraft, mainly Zero fighters and G3M and G4M medium torpedo bombers, whose range was not enough to operate even from the Marshall Islands. Onishi advised to contact his deputy - Minor Ganda.

In addition to being an excellent fighter pilot, whose unit became widely known as "Genda's conjurers", Genda was an excellent tactician and a great specialist in the use of aircraft carriers in combat. He comprehensively studied the possibilities of attacking the fleet in the harbor and came to the conclusion that in order to destroy the US Pacific Fleet in its main base, it was necessary to use all 6 heavy aircraft carriers, select the best aviators and ensure complete secrecy to ensure surprise, on which the success of the operation largely depended.

A detailed study of the plan was taken up by one of the leading officers of the headquarters of the United Fleet - Kuroshima Kameto. He was perhaps the most eccentric staff officer: as soon as he was inspired, he locked himself in his cabin, battened down the portholes and sat down completely naked at the table, burned incense and smoked continuously. It was Kuroshima Kameto who developed the plan at the tactical level, taking into account the slightest nuances.

The plan was then presented to the Naval General Staff, where it met with strong opposition. This is due to the fact that the naval general staff intended to use aircraft carriers in the south, because. Few believed that the base aviation would be able to support operations to capture the southern regions as effectively. In addition, many doubted the success of the proposed attack, because much here depended on factors that the Japanese could not influence: surprise, how many ships would be in the base, etc. Here it is worth referring to the personality of the commander in chief himself - Yamamoto was known for his love of gambling, and was ready to take this risk, hoping to win. Therefore, he was unshakable, and threatened to resign. With such a formulation of the question, the chief of the naval general staff, Nagano, had to agree with Yamamoto's plan. But since Admiral Nagumo doubted success, Yamamoto said that he was ready to personally lead the aircraft carrier unit into battle if Nagumo did not decide on this operation.

What forced Japan to go to war with such a powerful industrial country as the United States of America? In 1937, the Sino-Japanese War began. Hostilities moved south until Japanese forces established themselves in northern Indochina in September 1940. At the same time, Japan entered into a military alliance with Germany and Italy, which greatly influenced its relations with the United States. And when, in July 1941, Japan invaded southern part Indochina, the USA, Great Britain and Holland dealt a crushing economic blow - an embargo on oil exports to Japan. It is not difficult to understand how important oil was for Japan: the fuel reserves of the fleet amounted to 6,450,000 tons, with the most economical use, they would be enough for 3-4 years, after which the country would have to fulfill any requirement of the aforementioned powers. Therefore, it was decided to seize the oil-rich regions of Southeast Asia. But the question arose: how would the United States react to this? It was necessary to take into account the fact that at the beginning of 1941 the Pacific Fleet was transferred to Pearl Harbor. The admirals discussed 2 options for the development of events - first, start capturing the regions of Southeast Asia, and then, when the American fleet goes to sea, destroy it in a pitched battle; or preventively destroy a potential threat, and then concentrate all forces on the occupation. The second option was chosen.

Side forces

USA

Fire Support Group (Rear Admiral D. Mikawa): 3rd battleship brigade: ships of the line IJN Hiei And IJN Kirishima; 8th cruiser brigade: heavy cruisers IJN Tone And IJN Chikuma .

Patrol detachment (captain 1st rank K. Imaizumi):

Submarines I-19 , I-21 , I-23 .

Auxiliary ships in the Strike formation:

8 tankers and transports. Midway Atoll Neutralization Force(captain 1st rank K. Konishi):

Destroyers IJN Akebono And IJN Ushio .

Attack

The strike formation, in successive groups, left the Kure naval base and passed through the Inland Sea of ​​Japan between November 10 and 18, 1941. On November 22, the task force gathered in Hitokappu Bay (Kuril Islands). The ships were loaded with canvas covers to protect the guns in stormy weather, aircraft carriers received thousands of barrels of fuel, and people were given warm uniforms. November 26 at - 06:00 the ships left the bay and went by different routes to the assembly point, where they were to receive final instructions, depending on whether war should be started or not. On December 1, it was decided to start a war, which was reported to Admiral Nagumo the next day: Yamamoto from the flagship stationed in the Inland Sea transmitted an encrypted order: “Climb Mount Niitaka”, which meant that the attack was scheduled for December 7 (according to local time).

There were also 30 submarines operating in the Pearl Harbor area. various types, of which 16 were long-range submarines. 11 of them carried one seaplane each, and 5 carried "dwarf" submarines.

At 00:50 on December 7, being only a few hours away from the aircraft pick-up point, the formation received a message that there were no American aircraft carriers in the harbor. The message, however, stated that the battleships were in Pearl Harbor, and therefore Vice Admiral Nagumo and his staff decided to proceed according to plan.

At 06:00, the carriers, only 230 miles north of the Hawaiian Islands, began to raise aircraft. The takeoff of each aircraft was precisely synchronized with the roll of the aircraft carriers, which reached 15°.

The first wave included: 40 Nakajima B5N2 carrier-based torpedo bombers (type "97"), armed with torpedoes, which were equipped with wooden stabilizers specifically for attacking in a shallow harbor; 49 aircraft of this type carried an 800-kg armor-piercing bomb, specially developed by deep modernization of the battleship projectile; 51 Aichi D3A1 dive bombers (type "99"), carrying a 250-kg bomb; 43 Mitsubishi A6M2 fighters (type "0").

While Japanese aircraft were approaching the islands, one of the five Japanese mini-submarines was sunk near the harbor entrance. At 0342, the commander of one of the US Navy minesweepers spotted the submarine's periscope about two miles from the harbor entrance. He reported this to the destroyer USS Aaron Ward, who unsuccessfully searched for her until this or another mini-submarine was discovered from the Catalina flying boat. The submarine tried to get into the harbor, following the repair vessel "Antares". At 06:45 USS Aaron Ward sank her with artillery fire and depth charges. At 06:54 from the destroyer board the commander of the 14th naval region was transmitted: "We attacked, fired at and dropped depth charges on a submarine cruising within our territorial waters." Due to a delay in decryption, the duty officer received this message only at 07:12. He handed it over to Admiral Blok, who ordered the destroyer USS Monaghan come out to help USS Aaron Ward.

At 07:02, the approaching aircraft were detected by the radar station, and Privates Joseph Locard and George Elliott reported to information Center. Desk Officer Joseph McDonald relayed the information to 1st Lt. C. Tyler. He, in turn, calmed the privates, saying that reinforcements were coming to them. The radio station also spoke about this, transmitting music, which the pilots usually used as a bearing. The B-17 bombers were indeed about to arrive, but it was the Japanese who were spotted by the radar. Ironically, numerous signals of attack were, if not ignored, then left without due attention.

Fuchida in his memoirs is rather inaccurate in describing the signal to launch the attack. He did file it at 07:49, but back at 07:40 he released one black flare, which meant that the attack was going according to plan (i.e., the attack was sudden). However, Lieutenant Commander Itaya, leading the fighters, did not see the signal, so Fuchida fired a second rocket, also black. She was also noticed by the dive commander, who understood this as a loss of surprise, and in this case, the dive bombers should go on the attack immediately. But the smoke from bomb hits could interfere with torpedoing, so the torpedo bombers were also forced to hurry.

Despite the explosions and the chaos that began, at exactly 08:00 on the battleship USS Nevada military musicians under the direction of conductor Auden Macmillan began to play the US anthem. They got off a little bit only once, when a bomb fell next to the ship.

The main goal of the Japanese, of course, were American aircraft carriers. But at the time of the attack, they were not in the harbor. Therefore, the pilots concentrated their efforts on battleships x, as they were also a significant target.

The main striking force was 40 torpedo bombers. Because there were no aircraft carriers, 16 aircraft were left without a main target and acted on their own, which also made some confusion in the actions of the Japanese. The light cruiser was the first to be hit by a torpedo attack. USS Raleigh(CL-7) and target ship USS Utah(an old battleship, but some pilots mistook it for an aircraft carrier). Colleague suffered next USS Raleigh, light cruiser "Detroit" (CL-8).

At this time, Commander Vincent Murphy was talking on the phone with Admiral Kimmel about the report of the destroyer USS Aaron Ward. The messenger who entered the commander reported the attack on Pearl Harbor (“this is not an exercise”), after which he informed the admiral about it. Kimmel relayed the news to the commander Marine, Atlantic Fleet and Asiatic Fleet, as well as all forces on the high seas The message was sent at 08:00 and read: "Air raid on Pearl Harbor, this is not an exercise."

Rear Admiral W. Furlong, who was on board the mine layer USS Oglala(CM-4), seeing the aircraft over the harbor, immediately realized what was happening, and ordered a signal to be given, which flew up on the minelayer's mast at 07:55 and contained the following: "All ships leave the bay." Almost at the same time, one of the torpedoes passed under the bottom USS Oglala and exploded aboard a light cruiser USS Helena(CL-50). It would seem that the minelayer was lucky, but, ironically, from the explosion, the lining of the starboard side of the minzag was literally demolished, which is why it sank.

USS Oklahoma was moored to the battleship USS Maryland and took a powerful hit. The battleship was hit by 9 torpedoes, causing it to capsize.

The battleship was attacked almost simultaneously USS West Virginia, moored to USS Tennessee. Even though he, like USS Oklahoma received 9 torpedo hits, and an additional 2 bomb hits, thanks to the efforts of 1st Lieutenant Claude V. Rickets and his first assistant, Ensign Billingsley, who counter-flooded, the battleship did not roll over, which made it possible to restore it.

At 08:06, the first torpedo hit was received by the battleship USS California. In total, the battleship received 3 torpedo and one bomb hit.

Battleship USS Nevada was the only battleship to move. Therefore, the Japanese concentrated their fire on it, hoping to flood it in the fairway and block the harbor for many months. As a result, the ship received one torpedo and 5 bomb hits. The hope of the Americans to bring the battleship to the open sea did not materialize, and it was put aground.

hospital ship USS Vestal, moored to USS Arizona, reported a torpedo hit the battleship. After the attack, the ship was examined and no traces of torpedo hits were found, but veteran Donald Stratton, who served on USS Arizona, and after the war continues to claim that there was a hit.

This battleship was attacked by bombers at 08:11, and one of the bombs blew up the bow cellars of the main caliber, which destroyed the ship.

The following were attacked by bombers and fighters: the airfield on Ford Island, the US Air Force bases Hickam and Wheeler, the base of seaplanes.

Japanese fighters attacked the B-17s, which were unable to fight back. Then they attacked the "Dontlesses" (American carrier-based dive bombers) from an aircraft carrier. USS Enterprise. Several American planes were shot down after being attacked by their anti-aircraft guns.

The second echelon consisted of 167 aircraft: 54 B5N2, carrying 250-kg and 6-60-kg bombs; 78 D3A1 with 250 kg bomb; 35 A6M2 fighters. It is easy to see that there were no torpedo bombers in the second wave, because. the emphasis was on the first wave, and fighter cover was also reduced.

However, it was at this time that the American pilots were able to put up some decent resistance. Most of the aircraft were destroyed, but several pilots managed to take to the air and even shoot down some of the enemy aircraft. Between 8 h. 15 min. and 10 a.m. two sorties were made from the unattacked Haleiva airfield, in which 4 R-40 aircraft and one R-36 aircraft each participated. They shot down 7 Japanese aircraft at the cost of losing one aircraft. From Bellows Airfield until 9:50 a.m. not a single plane could take off, and the first plane took off from the Hickam airfield only at 11:27.

Among the numerous tragic and heroic episodes, there were also funny ones. This is a story about a destroyer USS Dale. Ernest Schnabel said after the war that a young boatswain named Fuller, during a respite between the first and second waves, was engaged in clearing the deck of wooden objects. He came across a crate of ice cream and decided to throw it overboard. However, he was stopped, the box was opened and the ice cream was distributed among the entire crew. If on that day someone could impartially observe the events, he would have seen the destroyer going into the canal, and the crew sitting at combat posts and eating ice cream!

Outcome

Japan was forced to attack the United States, because. negotiations, despite the efforts of Japanese diplomats, did not lead to anything, and she could not afford to play for time, because. resources were very, very limited.

The attack was planned the best specialists Japanese fleet, high-class aviators were trained.

Japan was waiting for the American fleet to be destroyed and the American nation to lose heart. If the first task was, though not completely, but completed, then the second was a failure. The Americans went through the entire war under the slogan: “Remember Pearl Harbor!”, And the battleship USS Arizona became for them a symbol of the "Day of Shame."

But to say that the entire American, and even the US Pacific Fleet went to the bottom, is wrong. The absence of aircraft carriers in the harbor helped America win the Battle of Midway, which is considered a watershed in the Pacific War. After him, Japan lost the opportunity to conduct major offensive operations.

Nagumo was careful not to strike at the infrastructure of the base, and even the Americans do not deny that this would have played no less, and perhaps even more, role than the destruction of the fleet. He left the oil storage facilities and docks intact.

Success could be developed. But they decided to use aircraft carriers to conquer Southeast Asia, where they had to suppress airfields and fight enemy aircraft, which were an order of magnitude inferior to the Japanese. Only the Doolittle Raid prompted them to take action, which ultimately led to Japan's defeat.

Notes

  1. Grand Joint Exercise No. 4
  2. So, when dreadnoughts entered the Brazilian fleet Minas Geraes And Sao Paulo, American diplomats immediately remembered "American unity."
  3. Approximately so proceeded wars in the age of sail, which indicates the "novelty" of this idea.

Pearl Harbor is a US naval base in the central Pacific Ocean on about. Oahu, where the main forces of the American Pacific Fleet were located. With the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, Japan unleashed the war in the Pacific. fighting in the Pearl Harbor area, they were an integral part of the Hawaiian operation of the Japanese naval forces (Operation Pearl Harbor - Aleutian Islands).

The idea of ​​this operation was to covertly approach and inflict a sudden massive strike by aviation of the aviation association on American ships, coastal facilities and aircraft at Pearl Harbor. Simultaneously with the actions of aviation, it was planned to use three ultra-small submarines delivered to the combat area on submarines - mothers. They received the task of penetrating Pearl Harbor Bay the night before the air strike and attacking the battleships with torpedoes. For a distracting strike, two destroyers from the aircraft carrier formation were tasked with shelling the air base on about. Midway.


By December 7, there were 93 ships and support vessels at Pearl Harbor. Among them are 8 battleships, 8 cruisers, 29 destroyers, 5 submarines, 9 minelayers and 10 US Navy minesweepers. Air Force consisted of 394 aircraft, air defense was provided by 294 anti-aircraft guns. The garrison of the base consisted of 42,959 people.


The ships in the harbor and the planes at the airfield were crowded, they were a convenient target for attack. air defense the base was not ready to repel attacks. Most of the anti-aircraft guns were not manned, the ammunition was under lock and key.


To attack Pearl Harbor, the Japanese command allocated an aircraft carrier formation under the command of Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo, consisting of 23 ships and 8 tankers. The connection consisted of a strike group, which consisted of six aircraft carriers (1st, 2nd and 5th divisions of aircraft carriers), a cover group (2nd detachment of the 3rd division of battleships), two heavy cruisers (8th division of cruisers) , one light cruiser and nine destroyers (1st Squadron destroyers), an advance detachment of three submarines and a supply detachment of eight tankers. The aviation group of the compound consisted of a total of 353 aircraft.


The operation, which was carefully planned and prepared, was led by the commander of the combined Japanese fleet, Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto. Particular importance was attached to achieving surprise attacks. On November 22, 1941, the task force gathered in the strictest secrecy in Hitokappu Bay (Kuril Islands) and from here, observing radio silence, on November 26 headed for Pearl Harbor. The transition took place along the longest (6300 km) route, which was distinguished by frequent stormy weather, but the least visited by ships. In order to disguise, a false radio exchange was made, which simulated the presence of all large Japanese ships in the Inland Sea of ​​Japan.


However, for the American government, the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor was not so unexpected. The Americans deciphered the Japanese codes and read all Japanese messages for several months. The warning about the inevitability of war was sent on time - November 27, 1941. The Americans received a clear warning about Pearl Harbor at the last moment, on the morning of December 7, but the order to increase vigilance, sent through a commercial line, reached Pearl Harbor only 22 minutes before the start of the Japanese attack, and was transferred to the messengers only at 10 hours 45 minutes when it was all over.


In the pre-dawn darkness of December 7, Vice Admiral Nagumo's aircraft carriers reached the lift point and were 200 miles from Pearl Harbor. On the night of December 7, 2 Japanese destroyers fired on about. Midway, and at Pearl Harbor, launched 5 Japanese midget submarines began to operate. Two of them were destroyed by American patrol forces.


At 0600 on December 7, 183 aircraft of the first wave took off from the aircraft carriers and headed for the target. There were 49 attack aircraft - bombers of the "97" type, each of which carried an 800-kilogram armor-piercing bomb, 40 attack aircraft-torpedo bombers with a torpedo suspended under the fuselage, 51 dive bombers of the "99" type, each with a 250-kilogram bomb. The covering force consisted of three groups of fighters, numbering a total of 43 vehicles.


The sky over Pearl Harbor was clear. At 7:55 a.m., Japanese aircraft attacked all large ships and aircraft at the airfield. There was none in the air American fighter, and on the ground - not a single gun flash. As a result of the Japanese attack, which lasted about an hour, 3 battleships were sunk and a large number of aircraft were destroyed. Having finished bombing, the bombers headed for their aircraft carriers. The Japanese lost 9 aircraft.


Aircraft of the second wave (170 aircraft) took off from aircraft carriers at 07:15. In the second wave there were 54 attack-bombers of the "97" type, 80 dive bombers "99" and 36 fighters, which covered the actions of the bombers. The second attack by Japanese aircraft met stronger resistance from the Americans. By 0800, the planes returned to the aircraft carriers. Of all the aircraft involved in the air raid, the Japanese lost 29 (9 fighters, 15 dive bombers and 5 torpedo bombers). Losses in manpower amounted to a total of 55 officers and enlisted men. In addition, the Americans sank one submarine and 5 midget submarines, which proved to be ineffective.


As a result of the Japanese airborne strike on Pearl Harbor strategic goal- to prevent the intervention of the US Pacific Fleet in Japanese operations in the south - was basically achieved. 4 American battleships were sunk, 4 more heavily damaged. 10 other warships were sunk or disabled; 349 American aircraft destroyed or damaged; among the killed or wounded Americans - 3581 military, 103 civilians.


The Japanese victory could have been even more significant. They failed to cause the slightest harm to enemy aircraft carriers. All 4 American aircraft carriers were absent at Pearl Harbor: 3 of them went to sea, one was being repaired in California. The Japanese made no attempt to destroy the huge American oil reserves in Hawaii, which in fact were almost equal to all of the Japanese reserves. The Japanese formation, with the exception of the ships included in a specially organized formation, which consisted of the 2nd division of aircraft carriers, the 8th division of cruisers and 2 destroyers, headed for the inland Sea of ​​Japan. December 23, it arrived at the anchorage at about. Hasira.

Thus, by 10 a.m. on December 7, the American fleet in the Pacific had virtually ceased to exist. If at the beginning of the war the ratio of the combat power of the American and Japanese fleets was 10:7.5, now the ratio in large ships has changed in favor of the Japanese naval forces. On the very first day of hostilities, the Japanese won dominance at sea and were able to carry out extensive offensive operations in the Philippines, Malaya and the Dutch Indies.

Used materials from the book: "One Hundred Great Battles", M. "Veche", 2002

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