Blog Archives

7 December 1941 (1)

Posted by GP

Japanese Type 00 fighters just proir to take-off.
Courtesy Japanese Archives

1200 hours – the lights of Waikiki Beach, Oahu, Hawaii were visible from the 2-man units of Commander Nagi Iwasa’s Special Attack Force 4 midget submarines. An hour later, they reached the booms that guarded the mile-wide mouth to the U.S. Pacific Fleet’s anchorage.

Orders for the men of the USS “Enterprise”

0300 hours – The crew of the Japanese aircraft, from 6 carriers, ate a celebratory breakfast, donned their “thousand-stitch” good luck belts, left family letters with clippings of hair and fingernails with their belongings and drank their sake toasts. At their final briefing, Commander Mitsuo Fushida wrote, “the room was not large enough for all the men, some of whom had to stand in the passageway. On the blackboard was written the positions of ships in Pearl Harbor as of 0600 hours 7 December. (Tokyo time).

0430 hours – one midget submarine crept past Keanpapuaa Point and found the boom open to admit 2 minesweepers. It circled Ford Island and logged in the warships through its periscope.

Japanese midget submarine

0530 hours – with the Pearl Harbor Strike Force now 200 miles north of Oahu, seaplanes left the cruisers “Tone” and “Chikuma” to make predawn recon sweeps of Pearl Harbor and Lahaina while rows of attack aircraft were loaded up. On the north Malayan coast, the enemy arrived at Kota Bharu, while the pillboxes and defenses manned by the 9th Indian Army Division were bombed. Gen. Percival called the Governor to alert him, and Sir Shenton Thomas replied, “Well, I suppose you’ll shove the little men off.”

o600 hours – the first planes to leave the Japanese Strike Force’s 6 carriers: 183 aircraft – 49 Val bombers with winged armor-piercing shells; 40 “Kates”, each with oxygen-powered Long Lance Torpedoes and an escort of 43 Zero fighters. They joined up and went into formation for an estimated 90 minute flight. The Imperial Navy battle ensign was broken out above Togo’s famous Z pendant signal at the “Akagi’s masthead as Fushida fastened the Hachimaki headband given to him from the crew.

0637 hours – A midget submarine was spotted by the destroyer, USS “Ward,” as the booms opened again to allow the “Antares” into the harbor. At 0645 hours, LtComdr. William Outerbridge ordered a gunfire and depth charge attack. A report was transmitted, but given low priority. See the after-action report below____

After-action report for the USS “Ward”

0700 hours – one of 3 US PBY flying boats, on submarine patrol, depth-charged a different attack and also signaled his report in code back to the base – the message took more than half an hour to be passed for circulation. The 2-man crew of the Army radar post at Opana spotted unusual blips on the screen – they were told: “Don’t worry about it.”

Bachok Beach, Kota Bharu, Malaya. Japanese landing point.

0730 hours (0130 hours in Singapore) – The first strike of 7 December was at Kota Bharu, northern Malaya, one hour and 20 minutes before Pearl Harbor. In pouring rain and rough seas, the 5,000 troops of Gen. Yamashita’s 56th Infantry Regiment went ashore at Singora Beach without firing a shot.

0735 hours – Fushida’s command plane listened to a Hawaiian radio station as the aircraft flew over Kahuka Point, Oahu.

………..To be continued……..

Click on images to enlarge.

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Political cartoon of the times____

Dr. Seuss gives his opinion again….