DBWI: Pearl Harbor Was Attacked

I'm reading a book about the Second Sino-Japanese War and it mentions a theoretical plan called Operation Z.
Basically the Japanese Air Force would have conducted a surprise attack on the Pearl Harbor Naval Dockyard and Base, attempting to destroy the American Pacific Fleet in one brilliant move.
What if this was actually attempted?
 
These kinds of plans are drawn up all the time as contingencies, but I doubt they ever seriously considered it. Heck, even the US kept the plan to invade Canada (War Plan Red) classified until the 1970s.
 
Sheer lunacy. The Philippines were in the way, and you can make an argument about Guam and even Midway, but Hawaii? No way.

the plans were there, it just was never executed. Its possible, it would require a lot of resources, planning and blind determination to fight a war againstan enemy that can easily out reach and out produce them. But its possible.

I highly doubt they could attack pearl harbor heavily enough that it would incapacitate the US pacific fleet. The harbor is too shallow for torpedos and they had a brand new radar site that could have seen the enemy planes coming from miles away. No way they can surprise the US fleet at anchor. They can damage a few ships at most and lose a lot of planes in the process. Basically the US would have won the war before it started.
 
Hawaii? But the Philippines is right there, and that's why the Japanese invaded that before any other American territory.
 
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