Tora! Tora! Tora!
- 00:09:52
- YouTube
Tora! Tora! Tora!
Reenactment of the 1941 raid on Pearl Harbor. On November 26, 1941, a Japanese task force (the Kido Butai, or Striking Force) of six aircraft carriers departed northern Japan en route to a position to northwest of Hawaii, intending to launch its aircraft to attack Pearl Harbor. In all, 405 aircraft were intended to be used: 360 for the two attack waves, 48 on defensive combat air patrol (CAP), including nine fighters from the first wave. * First wave The first attack wave of 183 planes was launched north of O?ahu, commanded by Captain Mitsuo Fuchida. Six planes failed to launch due to technical difficulties. * 1st Group (targets: battleships and flat tops) o 50 Nakajima B5N bombers armed with 800 kg armor piercing bombs, organised in four sections o 40 B5N bombers armed with Type 91 torpedoes, also in four sections * 2nd Group — (targets: Ford Island and Wheeler Field) o 54 Aichi D3A dive bombers armed with 550 lb general purpose bombs * 3rd Group — (targets: aircraft at Ford Island, Hickam Field, Wheeler Field, Barbers Point, Kaneohe) o 45 Mitsubishi A6M fighters for air control and strafing * Second wave The second wave consisted of 171 planes: 54 B5Ns, 81 D3As, and 36 A6Ms, commanded by Lieutenant-Commander Shigekazu Shimazaki. Four planes failed to launch because of technical difficulties. This wave and its targets comprised: * 1st Group — 54 B5Ns armed with 550 lb and 120 lb general purpose bombs o 27 B5Ns — aircraft and hangars on Kaneohe, Ford Island, and Barbers Point o 27 B5N — hangars and aircraft on Hickam Field * 2nd Group (targets: aircraft carriers and cruisers) o 81 D3As armed with 550 lb general purpose bombs, in four sections * 3rd Group — (targets: aircraft at Ford Island, Hickham Field, Wheeler Field, Barbers Point, Kaneohe) o 36 A6Ms for defense and strafing * Planned third wave Several Japanese junior officers, including Fuchida and Genda, the chief architect of the attack, urged Nagumo to carry out a third strike in order to destroy as much of Pearl Harbor's fuel and torpedo storage, maintenance, and dry dock facilities as possible. Military historians have suggested the destruction of these would have hampered the U.S. Pacific Fleet far more seriously than loss of its battleships. If they had been wiped out, "serious [American] operations in the Pacific would have been postponed for more than a year." Nagumo, however, decided to withdraw for several reasons
YouTube | November 9, 2008
