The Battle at Dawn: The first battle between the United States and Japan December 7-10, 1941
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the Third Wave
The Second Lull 0725 Hours - 0800 Hours
Bloch orders the remaining battleships, destroyers, and support ships to sortie and to ignore the reports of submarines off the harbor entrance. Better to lose one or two ships to a submarine attack then have all of them trapped in the harbor with another raid already detected on radar. His ships need sea room and the ability to use all their guns. Air Defense Headquarters orders the 18th Fighter Group at Bellows to get back into the air as quickly as possible and once airborne they are take position over the ships offshore. Leary is ordered to proceed at high speed with his cruisers and destroyer from Honolulu and provide additional anti-aircraft and anti-submarine support.
Meanwhile radar picks up two raids. The first consists of 108 bandits and is on a course that will take it directly to Pearl Harbor, while raid 2 is 54 aircraft and is heading for Honolulu. Convinced that Raid 2 is likely heading for Leary (and thus will search for ships offshore), McConnell stands by the decision regarding the 18th Fighter Group. For the bigger raid, he directs the 16th Fighter Group, hurriedly rearming and putting some fuel into gas tanks, to intercept Raid 1, and for the Marine Wildcats at Ewa to intercept Raid 1 as well. All remaining operational and undamaged fighters are in the air by 0750 hours climbing at full military power to reach their assigned altitude.
As all of this is going on, the destroyers at the harbor entrance spot and destroy 2 midget submarines but miss the third, which fires both of its torpedoes blindly into the column of ships making their way through the channel at 0736 hours. By pure luck, both torpedoes miss the West Virginia and slam into the Thornton, an old four stack destroyer that has been converted into a seaplane tender. One slams into a boiler room, another into her bow, but the skipper manages to beach her at Hospital Point, and avoids blocking the channel.
As the fleet makes its way out of the harbor, Rear Admiral Anderson aboard the West Virginia forms it into a task group and the fleet proceeds at the speed of its slowest ship at 18 knots due south.
Meanwhile, Admiral Bellinger orders 9 A20 bombers, 22 Dauntless dive bombers and 2 Vindicator bombers (all of which are carrying bombs) to head north and once the Japanese fleet is spotted, to attack immediately. Regrettably there are no fighters available to escort them. They are flying to the western side of Oahu and thus miss the air battle that is about to occur in the central part of the island and off the southern coast. The bombers are in three formations, with the A20s flying at 4,000 feet at their cruising speed of 250 miles per hour and are carrying 3 500 pound bombs, and have four .50 caliber machine guns forward and a rear .50 for the dorsal gunner. Behind them are the 22 Marine Corps Dauntless bombers, each carrying a single 1,000 pound bomb, and they are flying at 180 miles per hour and are at 14,000 feet, which means they are very rapidly outdistanced by the Army bombers. Finally are a pair of Vindicators, which also each carry a 1,000 pound bomb and by the time they reach their altitude of 14,000 feet and cruise of 160 miles an hour, they are well behind both other groups.
The Third Wave 0800 Hours
This force, which consists entirely of Val Dive Bombers and escorting Zero fighters is at 10,000 feet and has accelerated to 230 miles an hour as it crosses the coast. The fighters are ahead and above the Val dive bombers at 12,000 feet. There are two groups in Raid 1 with each group consisting of 5 squadrons of 9 dive bombers, plus a squadron of 9 fighters in the van. Group 1 has 27 dive bombers that have the mission of eliminating Ford Island as an effective airbase, while 18 have the mission of hitting the Fleet Docks, specifically the cruisers tied up alongside them. Group 2 is organized the same way, with 27 having the mission of eliminating Hickam Field as an effective airbase, while 18 are to attack the dry dock and the battleship Pennsylvania presently sitting there.
Raid 2 has 36 dive bombers, escorted by 18 fighters, and it has the mission of attacking the suspected carrier task force reported by the First Wave off Honolulu. Failing that, it will search for it in case it has moved, and then attack it where it can be found. If there are no carriers present, it will attack any cruisers or battleships that have made their way to sea, as the 2nd Wave has reported that several are undamaged and underway. If no ships are found, it will attack the same targets that can be found in Pearl Harbor itself.
Air battle over Ewo Forest
The 16th Fighter Group has 28 P40s and 10 P36s, and includes with them the leading scorers during the First Wave of Lieutenant's Taylor, Welch and Gabreski. The 47th Pursuit (and with them Welch and Taylor) are the only intact squadron and they have the mission of keeping the fighters busy in the lead group, while the other two squadrons (down to 8 fighters each) will each take a dive bomber squadron as will the P36s. The 12 Marine Wildcats are still moving to intercept and McConnell orders them to hit any formations that make it through the interception unscathed.
The 9 Japanese fighters in the lead group spot the approaching Americans and joined by the fighters from the second group with both squadrons quickly climbing to intercept as the American fighters begin their dives.
The air battle takes place over one of the most beautiful mountain ranges on Earth, with blue sky and scattered clouds above, and all around the bright greens of the Hawaiian landscape and the blue sea beyond. This picturesque scene is rapidly spoiled by flame and smoke as aircraft hammer machine gun bullets and cannon shells into one another. Outnumbered 12 to 18, the 47th makes one pass, flaming 5 Zeros (with Welch and Taylor get one each, making Taylor the first American ace in World War II). The Zeros pursue but find that the P40 is far faster in a dive than they are.
This buys time for the other P40s and the P36s to hit the 3 lead Val squadrons (from the Shokaku) and they achieve good results, shooting 10 of them down, damaging 14 more and forcing them to jettison their bombs and completely disrupting the entire formation. While the P40s are fast enough to zoom away, the P36s lack the superb dive speed of the Warhawks, and the Zeroes catch them, shooting 5 of them down, and damaging all of the others. Gabreski, who gets 2 Val's and in the dogfight that follows knocks down a Zero, becomes the second American ace of World War II, and also manages to bring the wreck of his P36 down on a dirt road a few hundred yards from a farm near Pearl City. He would spend the next few weeks in a hospital but would travel with Welch and Taylor to Washington DC to be decorated by the President with the Medal of Honor. The P36s manage to get 2 Zero fighters but are out of the fight. The P40s however zoom away and regroup over Opana Point to catch the enemy as they depart.
Sadly the Marine Wildcat pilots did not have the benefit of a briefing of Claire Chennault, nor did they read his report on the A6M Zero Fighter. They attack and are caught by the 9 battle worthy Zeros that remain and in a dogfight, the Marines discover that the Zero is far better in a turn than they are. The Japanese shoot down 2 of the Wildcats, damage 8 others and prevent the Marines from reaching the bombers and knock them completely out of the fight. However, the Wildcat is a very tough aircraft and heavily armed, and 3 Zeroes go down before their guns.
The remaining bombers of Group 1 proceed to their target, and the 3 from the Zuikaku, now too few to seriously damage Ford Island, join in with the Akagi attack group.
Attack on the Fleet Docks
At total of 21 dive bombers, most from the Akagi, reach the harbor and begin their dives on the cruisers. They are met by heavy flak from the ships tied up on the docks, as well as Army batteries around the harbor. Flak gets 4 of the Val's as they dive, another 9 are damaged, but 19 bombs are dropped successfully. All four cruisers are hit, with the San Francisco taking a hit in her hanger deck which starts a severe fire, another blasts apart rear superstructure, causing considerable casualties and a fire. Both fires burn for a couple of hours before finally being put out. The New Orleans suffers two very near misses that causes flooding and casualties and a direct hit on her fantail that knocks out her rudder and one screw. Two bombs aimed at her hit the Oiler Ramapo, which is loaded with fuel oil and carrying 4 PT boats on her deck that were originally destined for the Philippines. Two of the boats are blasted apart, and a serious fire starts that becomes the primary focus of firefighting efforts for Navy base firefighters and is put out in 30 minutes. Casualties are heavy aboard the Ramapo, but relatively light aboard the New Orleans. The cruisers St Louis and Honolulu, tied up side by side, and both still dependent on shore power as their engines were offline being overhauled, are hard to miss, and indeed are hit hard. Both suffer two bomb hits each, with the near misses all around. The Honolulu suffers a hit that threatens to set her magazine afire, and the forward magazine is quickly flooded but B turret is wrecked, A turret is damaged, and of course the magazine is flooded. The second bomb knocks a 5 inch turret completely apart on her port side, and also starting a serious fire that will rage for over an hour. Ready ammunition also explodes and further damage results. Heroic efforts prevent a chain reaction reaching any magazine but casualties aboard her are heavy. The St Louis takes a hit on her fantail, another amidships that starts a serious fire, and two near misses cause heavy flooding in her forward boiler room. Her steering is knocked out, as is half of her power plant, and damage to the dock also knocks out power to both ships temporarily.
Attack on Hickam Field
The Zuikaku attack force of 27 dive bombers have the mission of knocking out Hickam Field, and while flak is heavy from Army anti-aircraft gunners, the Army gun crews fail to knock any Val's down and the Japanese inflict a severe pasting on the base. A total of 27 500 pound bombs hit the base, wrecking every hanger, wreck all 17 bombers that were undergoing repair plus a visiting B24 that was held over the previous day because of engine trouble. However the plan to strafe the base is canceled due to heavy fire and while none of the Japanese bombers were shot down 11 of them were damaged in their attacks. The Japanese formation breaks off after bombing and leaves the area along the other dive bombers.
Attack on the Fleet Dry Dock
The 18 dive bombers from the Kaga begin their dives on the dry dock even as the rest of the dive bombers are making their runs. Facing only light flak, these crews, probably the best crews in the Japanese Navy, drop all 18 of their bombs in a very tight pattern and blast the destroyers Cassin and Downes apart, seriously damage the dry dock, start a severe oil fire from the wrecked destroyers, and place four bombs on the Pennsylvania. She takes 3 hits amidships, starting a severe fire in the hanger, badly damaging both the fore and aft superstructure, and also getting a hit on C turret that fails to penetrate the turret armor but whose splinters cause serious casualties. Another pair of bombs wreck the dry dock crane. None of the Val's are shot down, but 5 are damaged by American flak as they pull out of their dives.
American ambush over the North Shore
The surviving aircraft of Raid 1, consisting of 6 battle worthy Zero fighters and 62 Val dive bombers begin their egress from the attack, flying due north and their exit over Kahuku Point. They find that 16 P40s of the 16th Fighter Group are waiting for them. In another slashing diving attack that focuses on bombers that are lagging behind the rest, Taylor and Welch add to their scores (getting 2 kills each) and Welch becomes the third American Ace of World War II. In addition to their 4, another 6 Vals and 2 Zeroes are shot down and the American fighters continue their dives and zoom away. Several suffer damage from Val's gunners but Zeros that turned into the attack manage to knock down 2 of the American P40s.
Raid One has inflicted serious damage to a battleship, four cruisers, a fleet oiler and wrecked 2 destroyers and 2 PT boats. Hickam Field is burning (although the runways are undamaged), and 18 aircraft have destroyed on the ground and 9 American fighters in the air. Another 12 American fighters are write offs. Japanese losses however have been heavy, with 12 fighters destroyed, 3 more are doomed to be write offs when they reach the carriers. The dive bombers suffered 24 shot down, 4 ditch on their way home (and their crews die with them), 30 more are doomed to be write offs, and nearly every other bomber has suffered at least some damage.
Raid Two
As fierce fighting wages over Oahu, Raid Two makes its way over Honolulu, sees only the Antares and a few merchant ships in Honolulu harbor and proceeds toward the entrance of Pearl Harbor looking for ships that have sortied. There it finds the American fleet of 19 ships, and just as importantly the 18th Fighter Group with 19 P40s and 10 P36s finds them.
Using the same tactics as their fellow Army pilots, the P40s dive on the 18 Zeros as they climb to meet them using the heavy firepower and daunting dive speed of the Warhawk to blast 4 of the enemy fighters out of the sky and then diving away to then use their built up air speed to zoom back up to altitude. The Zeros manage to shoot down 2 of the P40s however, and damage 3 others but 4 of the Zeros are too damaged to continue the fight and must also break away. Meanwhile the P36s shoot down 4 of the lead Vals (from the Soryu), damage 4 more (and force them to jettison their bombs) before also diving away to avoid enemy fighters.
Attack on the California
The 28 Val's that remain are all ordered to concentrate on the lead battleship, the California, which was first to exit the harbor and still remains in the lead. American flak is murderous however, as well over 100 5 inch guns and numerous 3 inch guns all have clear firing arcs, as do the machine guns of the fleet as the Val's pull out of their dives. The Americans blast 6 out of the sky before they can drop, another 4 are shot down after they drop their bombs, and nearly every bomber takes at least some damage. The fierce flak throws off the Japanese aim and while 22 bombs are dropped at the battleship, only 4 manage to score, all amidships. Casualties are heavy aboard the California and she is left with a serious blaze that burns for nearly two hours before damage control teams manage to get it under control.
As the Japanese bombers flee the scene with they are once again attacked by the American fighters who have dive on them again. The remaining Japanese fighters manage to engage the P36 squadron before it can reach their prey however, and blast 6 out of the sky and wreck the rest at no loss to themselves, but the 12 P40s that remain in the fight shoot down another 9 Val dive bombers (the more seriously damaged lagging behind) before breaking off as fuel and ammunition are exhausted.
For the Japanese this has been a bitter disappointment. While a battleship has been seriously damaged and 14 American fighters either destroyed or doomed to be write offs when they land, they have lost 23 Val dive bombers and 4 Zeros shot down, another 4 Zeros and 20 Vals are doomed as write offs when they finally reach their ships. A disastrous trade for the Japanese 1st Air Fleet.
By 0855 the last Japanese plane has departed Oahu and the last American fighter has returned to base.
The Air Raid on Pearl Harbor is over. But the Pacific War has only just begun....
Bloch orders the remaining battleships, destroyers, and support ships to sortie and to ignore the reports of submarines off the harbor entrance. Better to lose one or two ships to a submarine attack then have all of them trapped in the harbor with another raid already detected on radar. His ships need sea room and the ability to use all their guns. Air Defense Headquarters orders the 18th Fighter Group at Bellows to get back into the air as quickly as possible and once airborne they are take position over the ships offshore. Leary is ordered to proceed at high speed with his cruisers and destroyer from Honolulu and provide additional anti-aircraft and anti-submarine support.
Meanwhile radar picks up two raids. The first consists of 108 bandits and is on a course that will take it directly to Pearl Harbor, while raid 2 is 54 aircraft and is heading for Honolulu. Convinced that Raid 2 is likely heading for Leary (and thus will search for ships offshore), McConnell stands by the decision regarding the 18th Fighter Group. For the bigger raid, he directs the 16th Fighter Group, hurriedly rearming and putting some fuel into gas tanks, to intercept Raid 1, and for the Marine Wildcats at Ewa to intercept Raid 1 as well. All remaining operational and undamaged fighters are in the air by 0750 hours climbing at full military power to reach their assigned altitude.
As all of this is going on, the destroyers at the harbor entrance spot and destroy 2 midget submarines but miss the third, which fires both of its torpedoes blindly into the column of ships making their way through the channel at 0736 hours. By pure luck, both torpedoes miss the West Virginia and slam into the Thornton, an old four stack destroyer that has been converted into a seaplane tender. One slams into a boiler room, another into her bow, but the skipper manages to beach her at Hospital Point, and avoids blocking the channel.
As the fleet makes its way out of the harbor, Rear Admiral Anderson aboard the West Virginia forms it into a task group and the fleet proceeds at the speed of its slowest ship at 18 knots due south.
Meanwhile, Admiral Bellinger orders 9 A20 bombers, 22 Dauntless dive bombers and 2 Vindicator bombers (all of which are carrying bombs) to head north and once the Japanese fleet is spotted, to attack immediately. Regrettably there are no fighters available to escort them. They are flying to the western side of Oahu and thus miss the air battle that is about to occur in the central part of the island and off the southern coast. The bombers are in three formations, with the A20s flying at 4,000 feet at their cruising speed of 250 miles per hour and are carrying 3 500 pound bombs, and have four .50 caliber machine guns forward and a rear .50 for the dorsal gunner. Behind them are the 22 Marine Corps Dauntless bombers, each carrying a single 1,000 pound bomb, and they are flying at 180 miles per hour and are at 14,000 feet, which means they are very rapidly outdistanced by the Army bombers. Finally are a pair of Vindicators, which also each carry a 1,000 pound bomb and by the time they reach their altitude of 14,000 feet and cruise of 160 miles an hour, they are well behind both other groups.
The Third Wave 0800 Hours
This force, which consists entirely of Val Dive Bombers and escorting Zero fighters is at 10,000 feet and has accelerated to 230 miles an hour as it crosses the coast. The fighters are ahead and above the Val dive bombers at 12,000 feet. There are two groups in Raid 1 with each group consisting of 5 squadrons of 9 dive bombers, plus a squadron of 9 fighters in the van. Group 1 has 27 dive bombers that have the mission of eliminating Ford Island as an effective airbase, while 18 have the mission of hitting the Fleet Docks, specifically the cruisers tied up alongside them. Group 2 is organized the same way, with 27 having the mission of eliminating Hickam Field as an effective airbase, while 18 are to attack the dry dock and the battleship Pennsylvania presently sitting there.
Raid 2 has 36 dive bombers, escorted by 18 fighters, and it has the mission of attacking the suspected carrier task force reported by the First Wave off Honolulu. Failing that, it will search for it in case it has moved, and then attack it where it can be found. If there are no carriers present, it will attack any cruisers or battleships that have made their way to sea, as the 2nd Wave has reported that several are undamaged and underway. If no ships are found, it will attack the same targets that can be found in Pearl Harbor itself.
Air battle over Ewo Forest
The 16th Fighter Group has 28 P40s and 10 P36s, and includes with them the leading scorers during the First Wave of Lieutenant's Taylor, Welch and Gabreski. The 47th Pursuit (and with them Welch and Taylor) are the only intact squadron and they have the mission of keeping the fighters busy in the lead group, while the other two squadrons (down to 8 fighters each) will each take a dive bomber squadron as will the P36s. The 12 Marine Wildcats are still moving to intercept and McConnell orders them to hit any formations that make it through the interception unscathed.
The 9 Japanese fighters in the lead group spot the approaching Americans and joined by the fighters from the second group with both squadrons quickly climbing to intercept as the American fighters begin their dives.
The air battle takes place over one of the most beautiful mountain ranges on Earth, with blue sky and scattered clouds above, and all around the bright greens of the Hawaiian landscape and the blue sea beyond. This picturesque scene is rapidly spoiled by flame and smoke as aircraft hammer machine gun bullets and cannon shells into one another. Outnumbered 12 to 18, the 47th makes one pass, flaming 5 Zeros (with Welch and Taylor get one each, making Taylor the first American ace in World War II). The Zeros pursue but find that the P40 is far faster in a dive than they are.
This buys time for the other P40s and the P36s to hit the 3 lead Val squadrons (from the Shokaku) and they achieve good results, shooting 10 of them down, damaging 14 more and forcing them to jettison their bombs and completely disrupting the entire formation. While the P40s are fast enough to zoom away, the P36s lack the superb dive speed of the Warhawks, and the Zeroes catch them, shooting 5 of them down, and damaging all of the others. Gabreski, who gets 2 Val's and in the dogfight that follows knocks down a Zero, becomes the second American ace of World War II, and also manages to bring the wreck of his P36 down on a dirt road a few hundred yards from a farm near Pearl City. He would spend the next few weeks in a hospital but would travel with Welch and Taylor to Washington DC to be decorated by the President with the Medal of Honor. The P36s manage to get 2 Zero fighters but are out of the fight. The P40s however zoom away and regroup over Opana Point to catch the enemy as they depart.
Sadly the Marine Wildcat pilots did not have the benefit of a briefing of Claire Chennault, nor did they read his report on the A6M Zero Fighter. They attack and are caught by the 9 battle worthy Zeros that remain and in a dogfight, the Marines discover that the Zero is far better in a turn than they are. The Japanese shoot down 2 of the Wildcats, damage 8 others and prevent the Marines from reaching the bombers and knock them completely out of the fight. However, the Wildcat is a very tough aircraft and heavily armed, and 3 Zeroes go down before their guns.
The remaining bombers of Group 1 proceed to their target, and the 3 from the Zuikaku, now too few to seriously damage Ford Island, join in with the Akagi attack group.
Attack on the Fleet Docks
At total of 21 dive bombers, most from the Akagi, reach the harbor and begin their dives on the cruisers. They are met by heavy flak from the ships tied up on the docks, as well as Army batteries around the harbor. Flak gets 4 of the Val's as they dive, another 9 are damaged, but 19 bombs are dropped successfully. All four cruisers are hit, with the San Francisco taking a hit in her hanger deck which starts a severe fire, another blasts apart rear superstructure, causing considerable casualties and a fire. Both fires burn for a couple of hours before finally being put out. The New Orleans suffers two very near misses that causes flooding and casualties and a direct hit on her fantail that knocks out her rudder and one screw. Two bombs aimed at her hit the Oiler Ramapo, which is loaded with fuel oil and carrying 4 PT boats on her deck that were originally destined for the Philippines. Two of the boats are blasted apart, and a serious fire starts that becomes the primary focus of firefighting efforts for Navy base firefighters and is put out in 30 minutes. Casualties are heavy aboard the Ramapo, but relatively light aboard the New Orleans. The cruisers St Louis and Honolulu, tied up side by side, and both still dependent on shore power as their engines were offline being overhauled, are hard to miss, and indeed are hit hard. Both suffer two bomb hits each, with the near misses all around. The Honolulu suffers a hit that threatens to set her magazine afire, and the forward magazine is quickly flooded but B turret is wrecked, A turret is damaged, and of course the magazine is flooded. The second bomb knocks a 5 inch turret completely apart on her port side, and also starting a serious fire that will rage for over an hour. Ready ammunition also explodes and further damage results. Heroic efforts prevent a chain reaction reaching any magazine but casualties aboard her are heavy. The St Louis takes a hit on her fantail, another amidships that starts a serious fire, and two near misses cause heavy flooding in her forward boiler room. Her steering is knocked out, as is half of her power plant, and damage to the dock also knocks out power to both ships temporarily.
Attack on Hickam Field
The Zuikaku attack force of 27 dive bombers have the mission of knocking out Hickam Field, and while flak is heavy from Army anti-aircraft gunners, the Army gun crews fail to knock any Val's down and the Japanese inflict a severe pasting on the base. A total of 27 500 pound bombs hit the base, wrecking every hanger, wreck all 17 bombers that were undergoing repair plus a visiting B24 that was held over the previous day because of engine trouble. However the plan to strafe the base is canceled due to heavy fire and while none of the Japanese bombers were shot down 11 of them were damaged in their attacks. The Japanese formation breaks off after bombing and leaves the area along the other dive bombers.
Attack on the Fleet Dry Dock
The 18 dive bombers from the Kaga begin their dives on the dry dock even as the rest of the dive bombers are making their runs. Facing only light flak, these crews, probably the best crews in the Japanese Navy, drop all 18 of their bombs in a very tight pattern and blast the destroyers Cassin and Downes apart, seriously damage the dry dock, start a severe oil fire from the wrecked destroyers, and place four bombs on the Pennsylvania. She takes 3 hits amidships, starting a severe fire in the hanger, badly damaging both the fore and aft superstructure, and also getting a hit on C turret that fails to penetrate the turret armor but whose splinters cause serious casualties. Another pair of bombs wreck the dry dock crane. None of the Val's are shot down, but 5 are damaged by American flak as they pull out of their dives.
American ambush over the North Shore
The surviving aircraft of Raid 1, consisting of 6 battle worthy Zero fighters and 62 Val dive bombers begin their egress from the attack, flying due north and their exit over Kahuku Point. They find that 16 P40s of the 16th Fighter Group are waiting for them. In another slashing diving attack that focuses on bombers that are lagging behind the rest, Taylor and Welch add to their scores (getting 2 kills each) and Welch becomes the third American Ace of World War II. In addition to their 4, another 6 Vals and 2 Zeroes are shot down and the American fighters continue their dives and zoom away. Several suffer damage from Val's gunners but Zeros that turned into the attack manage to knock down 2 of the American P40s.
Raid One has inflicted serious damage to a battleship, four cruisers, a fleet oiler and wrecked 2 destroyers and 2 PT boats. Hickam Field is burning (although the runways are undamaged), and 18 aircraft have destroyed on the ground and 9 American fighters in the air. Another 12 American fighters are write offs. Japanese losses however have been heavy, with 12 fighters destroyed, 3 more are doomed to be write offs when they reach the carriers. The dive bombers suffered 24 shot down, 4 ditch on their way home (and their crews die with them), 30 more are doomed to be write offs, and nearly every other bomber has suffered at least some damage.
Raid Two
As fierce fighting wages over Oahu, Raid Two makes its way over Honolulu, sees only the Antares and a few merchant ships in Honolulu harbor and proceeds toward the entrance of Pearl Harbor looking for ships that have sortied. There it finds the American fleet of 19 ships, and just as importantly the 18th Fighter Group with 19 P40s and 10 P36s finds them.
Using the same tactics as their fellow Army pilots, the P40s dive on the 18 Zeros as they climb to meet them using the heavy firepower and daunting dive speed of the Warhawk to blast 4 of the enemy fighters out of the sky and then diving away to then use their built up air speed to zoom back up to altitude. The Zeros manage to shoot down 2 of the P40s however, and damage 3 others but 4 of the Zeros are too damaged to continue the fight and must also break away. Meanwhile the P36s shoot down 4 of the lead Vals (from the Soryu), damage 4 more (and force them to jettison their bombs) before also diving away to avoid enemy fighters.
Attack on the California
The 28 Val's that remain are all ordered to concentrate on the lead battleship, the California, which was first to exit the harbor and still remains in the lead. American flak is murderous however, as well over 100 5 inch guns and numerous 3 inch guns all have clear firing arcs, as do the machine guns of the fleet as the Val's pull out of their dives. The Americans blast 6 out of the sky before they can drop, another 4 are shot down after they drop their bombs, and nearly every bomber takes at least some damage. The fierce flak throws off the Japanese aim and while 22 bombs are dropped at the battleship, only 4 manage to score, all amidships. Casualties are heavy aboard the California and she is left with a serious blaze that burns for nearly two hours before damage control teams manage to get it under control.
As the Japanese bombers flee the scene with they are once again attacked by the American fighters who have dive on them again. The remaining Japanese fighters manage to engage the P36 squadron before it can reach their prey however, and blast 6 out of the sky and wreck the rest at no loss to themselves, but the 12 P40s that remain in the fight shoot down another 9 Val dive bombers (the more seriously damaged lagging behind) before breaking off as fuel and ammunition are exhausted.
For the Japanese this has been a bitter disappointment. While a battleship has been seriously damaged and 14 American fighters either destroyed or doomed to be write offs when they land, they have lost 23 Val dive bombers and 4 Zeros shot down, another 4 Zeros and 20 Vals are doomed as write offs when they finally reach their ships. A disastrous trade for the Japanese 1st Air Fleet.
By 0855 the last Japanese plane has departed Oahu and the last American fighter has returned to base.
The Air Raid on Pearl Harbor is over. But the Pacific War has only just begun....
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authors notes to come later on this.. it is after all Christmas Eve
Merry Christmas everyone
Merry Christmas everyone
The Japanese are running out of fighters.That's going to cause serious problems if they run into the American aircraft carriers.
a full accounting of losses by both sides will be in the next chapter, and what the fleets have available and in position to matter for the next phase
from Navweapons (the order of battle I am using)
"The six Japanese aircraft carriers had a total of 441 aircraft aboard of which 387 were "combat ready" along with 54 spares that were not yet useable, but would become available within a few hours. These 54 were partially disassembled for ease of storage, with each carrier having three spare aircraft of each type aboard."
Which will help in replacing the aircraft that are write offs but managed to return to base
Aircraft shot down and their aircrew of course are gone forever
Thanks for the unexpected treat of an update. A very bloody day for both sides, but in the end, the IJN carrier strike forces are decimated. The US has suffered more damaged ships than OTL, but several can be repaired if given the chance. The damage to the dockyard is serious, and this will hinder repairs to the USN ships. This may well cause delays before the US can get them back into operation to carry out strikes against Japan and assist in any invasions that the US may try in the coming year.
Now the focus will seem to move towards the carriers and the invasion of Midway. Also, will the unescorted US bombers find any Japanese ships and if so, will they survive the Japanese CAP.
Merry Christmas galveston-bay and hope that the New Year will allow more updates soon.
Now the focus will seem to move towards the carriers and the invasion of Midway. Also, will the unescorted US bombers find any Japanese ships and if so, will they survive the Japanese CAP.
Merry Christmas galveston-bay and hope that the New Year will allow more updates soon.
Driftless
Donor
Kudos to GB for getting this published, considering family obigations! That's not an easy bit of juggling there.
Does Admiral Richardson get to say "Told you so!", or does he get catch a heap-o-political flak for the damage done to the fleet anyway? The attack played out along the lines of his great concern.
Of course, if Mac & company follow the OTL script, then Admiral Richardson looks pretty prescient and prepared by comparison.
Does Admiral Richardson get to say "Told you so!", or does he get catch a heap-o-political flak for the damage done to the fleet anyway? The attack played out along the lines of his great concern.
Of course, if Mac & company follow the OTL script, then Admiral Richardson looks pretty prescient and prepared by comparison.
Admiral Richardson gets a posthumous Medal of Honor..... he was killed when dive bombers hit his headquarters in the 2nd Wave
General Harmon will get a lot of credit, as will General McConnell, Admiral Bloch and Admiral Bellenger
The US Army in the Philippines is going to come off very badly in comparison, particularly the commanders
Driftless
Donor
Forgot about Adm Richardson getting killed in the early attack. I still like the idea of a future carrier (or a much-in-the-future) SSN named in his honor.
Driftless
Donor
Air power in general is going to look even more like the force of the future as a result of the Hawaian battles (Would this still be called "Pearl Harbor" by this universe's historians?) So far, the surface navy has had a very hard day. Still, I'd think that this universe's public opinion would have the "Day of Infamy" righteous anger coming out of the fight. The Hawaiian commands are going to look like warriors in any case.
If the US carriers are able to get some licks in on the Japanese, that only reinforces the air-power point even more. Those Essex class carriers on the construction ways are looking pretty powerful.
IF the Philippines goes close to OTL, I think Mac gets the sack - there won't be the sentiment for pulling his chestnuts out of the fire.. What happens with Wainwright? (I guess we find out....
)
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Is Yamamoto going to return to Japan as soon as possible after this? By now he knows that the US fleet is at sea.
A superb update and thank you for this! Its far more bloody for the IJN who now have to get out of the area. The US battle line simply can't catch the IJN ships, there's at least a 7 knot disparity in speed going off the speed of the slowest IJN carrier the Kaga vs a Standard type Battleship and that's simply insurmountable.But now the IJN has to extradite itself from the area whilst there's an aroused and angry US naval base throwing bombers at them with gay abandon. AND there's the USN carriers in the region as well as other US bases like Wake, Guam and Midway that will no doubt be on the alert and not some pushover.
That still puts a serious dent in the number of fighters available.Defending the fleet could be very challenging
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