The Battles at Dawn: The Japanese and American Battles that shaped the World War in the Pacific An Alternate History

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Chapter 8 Aftermath of Pearl Harbor
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    Chapter 8 The aftermath of Pearl Harbor

    As smoke bellows from Pearl Harbor, and the Army bases at Wheeler and Hickem Fields, the Americans begin counting the cost. Even as the last Japanese aircraft leaves the area the US Navy begins an epic salvage operation like none before in history and many of the ships that fell victim this day will return to the fleet later.

    US Navy Hawaiian area December 7, 1941 1100 Hours
    Task Force 9 Picket force (all are at least 150-200 miles from Striking Force to northwest, west, or northeast)(submarines are making best speed to block the likely Japanese return heading either to the north or west)(surface ships are moving to last position of the Gamble)
    Destroyer minelayers Gamble (sunk) , Ramsey, Montgomery, Pruitt, Tracy
    submarines S-18, S-23, S-34, Gudgeon, Plunger, Tambor, Thresher

    Scouting Force (Halsey)
    Task Force 2 (Brown) carrier Lexington (w 37 Dauntless dive bombers, 18 Devastator torpedo bombers, 17 Buffalo fighters), heavy cruisers Chicago, Portland, Astoria, destroyers Porter, Drayton, Flusser, Lamson, Mahan, Cummings,

    Task Force 4 (Fletcher) carrier Yorktown (36 Dauntless dive bombers, 18 Devastator torpedo bombers, 18 Wildcat fighters)heavy cruisers Minnapolis, Indianapolis, light cruisers Helena, Phoenix destroyers Farragut, Aylwin, Monaghan, Tucker, Ellet, Blach, Case (several of these ships meet up with the Yorktown just after dawn on December 8 after a high speed run from Pearl Harbor)

    Task Force 3 (Halsey) carrier Enterprise (37 Dauntless dive bombers, 18 Vindicator Dive bombers,18 Devastator torpedo bombers, 14 Wildcat fighters), heavy cruisers Northampton, Chester, Salt Lake City, destroyers Maury, Craven, Gridley, McCall, Dunlap, Benham, Fanning,

    Task Force 8 destroyer minesweepers Chandler, Hovey, Boggs, Lamberton, fleet oilers Platte, Tippacanoe, Santee, Sangamon

    The Scouting Force is refueling 0730 hours – 1350 hours

    Other Forces
    French Frigate Shoals
    Passing nearby: (returning from Midway) Seaplane Tender Wright (civilians aboard), Tranport Burrows (en route to Wake Island),
    station: small seaplane tender Swan, Destroyer minelayer Sicard, patrol gunboat Sacramento

    Kure: small seaplane tender Avocet, destroyer minelayer Breese,

    Returning to Pearl Harbor afternoon December 7 battleship California (4 bomb hits amidships, serious fires, secondary armament and fire control wrecked)

    Task Force 1 (Anderson) (Midway Reinforcement Force)(returned to Pearl Harbor afternoon December 7, return to sea morning of December 9 after taking on personnel, cargo, stores and refueling)
    battleships Maryland, West Virginia seaplane tenders Tangiers, Curtis, Hulbert stores ship Antares destroyers MacDonough, Phelps, Chew, Allen, Henley, Patterson, Ralph Talbot,


    In port Pearl Harbor
    110 Dock: battleship Oklahoma (sunk 8 torpedo hits, 2 in stern, part of stern missing, 5 amidships, 1 removed much of the bow, serious casualties, abandoned, on fire, serious oil fire covering much of this part of the harbor)
    Fleet Target ship Utah (4 torpedo hits, sunk, abandoned)
    submarine Cachelot (sunk by 1 torpedo, abandoned)(scrapped in place in 1942)

    Drydock: battleship Pennyslvania (3 x 500 pound bomb hits, severe fire damage amidships wrecking 6 inch secondary 5 inch mounts), destroyers Cassin, Downes (both destroyers are constructive total losses due to multiple bomb hits, magazine explosions, fire damage)
    Floating drydock: destroyer Shaw(being hurriedly readied for sea)

    Naval Station docks: heavy cruisers San Francisco (2 x 500 pound bomb hits, severe fire gutted hanger deck and aft superstructure, several 5 inch AA guns ruined),


    heavy cruiser New Orleans (broken plates and some flooding from 2 x 500 pound bomb near misses, fantail, rudder, starboard screw need major repairs or replacement from 500 pound bomb hit)


    light cruiser St Louis (2 x 500 pound bomb hits, steering compartment wrecked, forward boiler room wrecked, severe fire damage amidships),


    light cruiser Honolulu (2 x 500 pound bomb hits, B turret wrecked, 1 5 inch turret wrecked, forward 6 inch magazine flooded, fire damage amidships and forward superstructure),
    destroyers Jarvis, Mugford, Bagley, Cummings,


    minesweeper Greebe, destroyer minesweeper Trever, Zane, Perry Wasmuth, destroyer minelayer Breese,
    oiler Ramapo (severe fire damage from 2 x 500 pound bomb hits),
    repair ship Argonne, stores ship Rigel,

    Southeast Loch (submarine base) docks: submarine tender Pelias, rescue ship Widgeon, repair ship Sumner, stores ship Castor, submarines Narwhal, Dolphin, Tautog,

    Middle loch: repair ship Medusa, hospital ship Solace

    Battleship Row
    battleship Nevada (inboard)(2 torpedo hits, steering compartments, 2 boiler rooms flooded)(3 AP bomb hits, galley destroyed, 2 damage control teams wiped out, more damage to boilers, A turret penetrating hit and out of action)(fires are under control but has settled on the bottom),

    destroyer Dobbin (outboard of Nevada)(serious flooding engineering spaces from concussion from Nevada torpedo hits)(1 AP bomb hit, detonated below the ship, keel broken, engineering spaces flooded)(sunk and abandoned)

    battleship Arizona (inboard)(1 torpedo hit, 3 AP bomb hits, forward magazine detonation, on fire, abandoned and sunk)
    Repair ship Vestal (outboard) (1 torpedo hit, engineering spaces flooded)(flooded forward hold from Arizona torpedo hit, 1 damaging near miss and 2 AP hits that were duds, ship has sunk, severe fires from Arizona detonation, serious casualties from that and hits it has suffered, abandoned for now)
    battleship Tennessee (inboard)(D turret has lost a 14 inch gun to a AP dud, 1 AP hit has flooded the steering compartment)(fires from flaming debris from Hull and Arizona, being taken under tow by harbor tugs to move her from flaming oil from Arizona)
    destroyer Hull (outboard) (destroyed by 1 torpedo hit which caused a detonation that broke her in two. Both halves are on fire and have sunk preventing magazine explosions. Severe casualties)

    East Loch
    destroyer tender: Whitney, minelayer Oglala, Destroyer Selfridge (fighting fire amidships from plane crash) oiler Neosho (three quarters of ship on fire, has been abandoned)

    harbor entrance
    destroyers Blue, Ward, Helm, Dewey, Worden, 4 minesweepers, 6 PT boats,

    seaplane tender Thornton ( 2 torpedo hits from midget submarine, heavy casualties, beached off Hospital Point

    Post attack fates of ships hit in the attack
    Arizona broke in two as a result of the detonation of its magazine and can not be raised. Much of the steel above the deck level is taken off over the course of the war and recycled, while the guns end up assigned to the US Army Coast Defense branch. Her crew suffers the worst casualties numerically during the attack.

    Oklahoma had an entire side of the vessel ripped open by torpedo hits amidships and avoided rolling over only by heroic damage control work and ruthless counterflooding as well hits that followed that removed part of her stern and bow (essentially blowing the forward 20 feet of the bow completely apart) which opened up the starboard side to flooding (as did the removal of a substantial part of the stern). Basically enough water flooded in from the front and back of the ship, along with counterflooding, to allow her to sink with a severe list but not roll over. This rate of flooding was increased further by a torpedo that went into a hole created by a previous torpedo and blew out not only several compartments but vented the port side to flooding as well. Nearly 500 men die aboard her in flooded compartments or from the explosions of torpedoes. The second oldest battleship in the Pacific Fleet, and over 25 years old, she is considered a constructive total loss and not worth repairing. However she does take up valuable space at the 110 Dock, and so is refloated in a herculean effort in July 1942, and then towed out to sea and scuttled with honors. Over 100 bodies are discovered in compartments when she was pumped out and those men are buried with many of their crewmates at Honolulu National Cemetary. Her guns also end up with Army Coast Defense but are never used however some are used on other old battleships to replace damaged guns or guns worn out later.

    Nevada is raised in May 1942, steams to Bremerton Naval Yard for repairs and modernization, and rejoins the fleet January 1943. Over 100 men were killed aboard her during the attack.

    Pennsylvania is sent to Bremerton Naval Yard for repairs and modernization in January 1942, once the wreckage of the Cassin and Downes are removed and the dry dock is repaired sufficiently to return to service. Indeed the Dry Dock is the first priority of repair efforts. Two of the new Fletcher class destroyers get the names Cassin and Downes. The Pennsylvania rejoins the fleet in May 1942.

    California     is sent to Mare Island Naval Yard for repairs and modernization, rejoining the fleet in May 1942. Over 50 are killed during the attack off Oahu.

    Tennessee is sent to Bremerton Naval Yard for repairs and modernization with the help of fleet tugs in late December 1941. She is then sent to Mare Island for further modernization and rejoins the Fleet in June 1942. Almost 200 were killed aboard her, mostly exposed personnel killed by the blasts and debris spread by the detonation of a destroyer alongside of her and a battleship directly astern of her.
    The heavy cruiser San Francisco is sent to Mare Island in December 1941 and rejoins the fleet in February 1942 after modernization. Over 100 die aboard her during the attack.

    The heavy cruiser New Orleans is towed to East Loch until the drydock is available again and then gets a new rudder and new screws and is sent to Bremerton for repairs and modernization. She rejoins the fleet in June 1942 and suffered 67 dead during the attack.

    The light cruisers Honolulu and St Louis were high priority ships, as they are modern highly capable light cruisers. Both are given sufficient repairs at Pearl Harbor to send them to Bremerton in January 1942, and both rejoin the fleet in April 1942. Between them over 150 are killed.

    The Vestal, Neosho, and Utah are all considered constructive total losses. The Vestal and Utah are raised, and along with the Neosho (which did not sink but simply was burned out) are towed out to sea and scuttled as not worth the risk of towing to the West Coast to be scrapped. Over 250 die aboard these three ships. The wreckage of the Hull, Thornton, and Dobbin are also raised, as the two destroyers are in valuable anchorages and the Thornton is too close to the channel for comfort, and they also are towed out to sea for scuttling. The Hull took the highest percentage casualties of the day, with only 14 of her crew of 160 man crew surviving the explosion of her magazine. Another 100 men died aboard the other two ships.

    The Selfridge is quickly repaired and rejoins the fleet in February 1942 and suffered the loss of 23 dead during the attack.. The fleet oiler Ramapo rejoins the fleet soon after in March 1942, with 13 of her crew buried at Honolulu National Cemetary.

    Other naval casualties from strafing, the attack on the Fleet headquarters, stray bombs and plane crashes number over 100 including the Commander of the Pacific Fleet who is awarded a posthumous Medal of Honor and a Fletcher class Destroyer is named for him, the USS Richardson enters service in 1943.

    Total Navy dead (including those killed on the Gamble) total 2357
     
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    • Chapter 8 Aftermath American Counterattacks
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    • galveston bay

    American Counterattacks December 7
    Three American formations are in route toward where the Japanese fleet is assumed to be. The Army aircraft are well in the lead, but also are off somewhat in the navigation and are forced to do a box search. Thus the Marine Dauntless dive bombers arrive at 845 Hours. The Japanese have 36 fighters up as a combat air patrol and they swarm all over the Marine aircraft, shooting 17 of them down and only 5 manage to make a combat dive, where 2 are blasted apart by Japanese flak. Only 3 manage to drop their bombs, and all three miss the Kaga, the biggest target in the Japanese fleet. One is then caught escaping by the Zeros and both survivors escape but only one makes it back to Oahu where it lands at Haleiwa, while the other ditches on the way home. Only 1 Marine of the 44 who took part in the attack survives, the pilot who made it to Haleiwa, and his gunner is dead in the seat behind him. His aircraft is a write off.

    A B17 spots the Japanese fleet next at 0907 hours, and makes an attack after providing a position report. It too is spotted by the Japanese CAP, and the Japanese learn that the B17 is a very tough aircraft, as while it is shot to pieces it manages to escape where it ends up making an acceptable landing at Wheeler Field (in that everyone survives the landing) but the wreckage is pushed off the runway. By a miracle all of the crew survives although only two remain unwounded (the pilot and the flight engineer). Their bombing attack is a failure however, as three bombs land in the water well to the starboard of the Kirishima. The crew claims two hits on a battleship and that it was sinking, as flames and flashes were very visible from the Japanese ship.

    However, the position report is picked by by the A20s, who are about to return home, and the Vindicators, who are approaching the Japanese fleet as well. The Army bombers come in at 300 miles an hour in a shallow dive and pick the first carrier they see, the Akagi at 0918 hours. The Army bombers are far faster than the Japanese expect, and the Japanese fighters only have a 30 mile an hour speed advantage over them. Three of the fighters make the mistake of making a head on attack against the A20s, and learn the hard way that the Americans have four fixed .30 caliber machine guns forward. One is blasted apart, and the other two are damaged and forced to break off. The Japanese manage to shoot down 7 of the bombers using their fighters and anti aircraft fire but 5 of them manage to drop their bombs but miss their target. However, heavy strafing does cause numerous casualties aboard the Japanese ship as all 5 bombers concentrate their fire on the Akagi's island. More importantly, a burning A20 crashes into the island structure and the bridge and flag bridge are both swept by machine gun rounds and fire and Nagumo and several of his staff are killed. The lone surviving A20, badly shot up, ditches on its return home resulting in the deaths of both crew members. Post war investigation still has not determined the name of the pilot who crashed his plane into the Akagi.

    However, the 2 Marine Vindicator's reach the Japanese fleet at that moment, and they dive on the first carrier they see, the Zuikaku. With the Japanese attention firmly focused on the Army bombers, they are not even spotted until they pull out of their dives and both place their 1,000 pound bombs squarely on the flight deck of the Japanese carrier. The forward elevator is blasted into wreckage by one bomb, while the other penetrates the flight deck and explodes in the hanger below, wrecking it and starting a serious fire that destroys the spare aircraft that were being assembled and killing dozens of men. Although the fires are put out within 30 minutes, the Zuikaku is no longer available for flight operations and its aircraft are recovered by the other carriers. Both bombers escape making it into clouds before they can be swarmed by the Japanese fighters and both manage to make it home.

    The Japanese finish recovering their aircraft 180 miles north north west of Oahu at 1030 hours and then begin their retirement at 24 knots heading west. Meanwhile, Major Landon and his 11 B17s arrive at Hickam Field, which is still burning when they land. Army personnel hurriedly refuel, arm and bomb up the aircraft and all 11, along with the 5 B17Ds that are available take off at 1400 hours heading for the most likely Japanese position. At 1700 hours they find the Japanese fleet, and bombing from 20,000 feet, surround the Japanese warships with splashes but score not a single hit. The Japanese fighters fail to reach altitude before the American bombers are long gone and break off the pursuit.

    At 1810 hours, with dusk rapidly approaching, the American submarine S-23 is nearly run down by the Japanese fleet but manages to fire all its forward torpedo tubes at the nearest carrier, the Soryu. Of four torpedoes launched, three actually hit the carrier and two of them detonate. A chain reaction of explosions results and after 20 minutes it is clear that the ship is doomed. Two destroyers are left behind to take off survivors and the rest of the Japanese fleet steams on into the gathering darkness. The S-23 is attacked by Japanese destroyers for 20 minutes but escapes unscathed. The Soryu goes down with 432 men, and takes with it all of its aircraft as well.

    With that the first day of battle between the Imperial Japanese Navy and the United States Navy comes to an end.

    All of the American bomber squadrons involved are awarded the Presidential Unit Citation, with the surviving aircrew awarded the Navy Cross or Distinguished Service Cross. The S-23 will also be awarded the Presidential Unit Citation.
     
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    • galveston bay

    A20 crash into the Akagi based on similar incident (the B26 in question barely missed) during OTL Battle of Midway

    Seemed more likely to kill Nagumo than a strafing run in the previous draft.
     
    Driftless

    Driftless

    Donor
    galveston bay said:
    Total Navy dead (including those killed on the Gamble) total 2357
    Click to expand...
    A higher casualty total than historic (plus the Army on shore and Army Air Corps losses to be added). A much more back-and-forth punching match between heavyweight boxers, plus the third wave from the Japanese
     

    galveston bay

    Driftless said:
    A higher casualty total than historic (plus the Army on shore and Army Air Corps losses to be added). A much more back-and-forth punching match between heavyweight boxers, plus the third wave from the Japanese
    Click to expand...
    In OTL, the Nevada soaked up a lot of Japanese dive bomber attacks that should have been aimed at those 4 cruisers tied helplessly at the dock. The dive bombers did not have bombs capable of penetrating the deck armor of the Nevada, but they would have done well against the cruisers. Rectified in this timeline.
     

    Steelers94

    NHBL said:
    Quiet the battle. The Japanese lost the war today, though making the realize it will take a LONG time.
    (It might take even longer if they realize that they need a better pilot training system.)
    Click to expand...
    I mean they lost the war at Pearl OTL as well. Just by attacking in the way they did, even if they'd gotten the declaration off before they hit it was always going to piss off the US public badly.
     

    zert

    One Japanese carrier sink, 2 damaged, plus heavy plane losses. This could help prevent Wake Island from being lost it the defenders can hold out. Plus the losses may stop the Darwin and Indian Ocean Raids.
     
    marathag

    marathag

    Steelers94 said:
    I mean they lost the war at Pearl OTL as well. Just by attacking in the way they did, even if they'd gotten the declaration off before they hit it was always going to piss off the US public badly.
    Click to expand...
    A sucker punch that chips a tooth pisses you off just as much as getting put down to the mat. I see no change in US behavior toward Japan

    Hull will still get the Japanese note, that wasn't a DoW, hours late, just as OTL. There is nothing in the 14 part message that says
    Japan Declares War upon the United States' but this:

    Thus, the earnest hope of the Japanese Government to adjust Japanese-American relations and to preserve and promote the peace of the Pacific through cooperation with the American Government has finally been lost.

    The Japanese Government regrets to have to notify hereby the American Government that in view of the attitude of the American Government it cannot but consider that it is impossible to reach an agreement through further negotiations.
     

    Major Major

    marathag said:
    A sucker punch that chips a tooth pisses you off just as much as getting put down to the mat. I see no change in US behavior toward Japan

    Hull will still get the Japanese note, that wasn't a DoW, hours late, just as OTL. There is nothing in the 14 part message that says
    Japan Declares War upon the United States' but this:

    Thus, the earnest hope of the Japanese Government to adjust Japanese-American relations and to preserve and promote the peace of the Pacific through cooperation with the American Government has finally been lost.

    The Japanese Government regrets to have to notify hereby the American Government that in view of the attitude of the American Government it cannot but consider that it is impossible to reach an agreement through further negotiations.
    Click to expand...

    Hull replied: "I must say that in all my conversations with you during the last nine months I have never uttered one word of untruth. This is borne out absolutely by the record. In all my fifty years of public service I have never seen a document that was more crowded with infamous falsehoods and distortions --- infamous falsehoods and distortions on a scale so huge that I never imagined until today that any Government on this planet was capable of uttering them."
     
    Driftless

    Driftless

    Donor
    Major Major said:
    Hull replied: "I must say that in all my conversations with you during the last nine months I have never uttered one word of untruth. This is borne out absolutely by the record. In all my fifty years of public service I have never seen a document that was more crowded with infamous falsehoods and distortions --- infamous falsehoods and distortions on a scale so huge that I never imagined until today that any Government on this planet was capable of uttering them."
    Click to expand...

    As so ably acted by George Macready in "Tora, Tora, Tora"

     

    Steelers94

    marathag said:
    A sucker punch that chips a tooth pisses you off just as much as getting put down to the mat. I see no change in US behavior toward Japan

    Hull will still get the Japanese note, that wasn't a DoW, hours late, just as OTL. There is nothing in the 14 part message that says
    Japan Declares War upon the United States' but this:

    Thus, the earnest hope of the Japanese Government to adjust Japanese-American relations and to preserve and promote the peace of the Pacific through cooperation with the American Government has finally been lost.

    The Japanese Government regrets to have to notify hereby the American Government that in view of the attitude of the American Government it cannot but consider that it is impossible to reach an agreement through further negotiations.
    Click to expand...
    Oh I was comparing US attitude post Pearl OTL vs one where Hull got the note on time. With how soon Japan would attack Pearl it would be obvious they were planning this months if not years in advance and I doubt the US wouldn't be just as pissed VS OTL
     

    jlckansas

    Kurt_Steiner said:
    Losing one carrier and having damaged two other is bad enough, but loosing Nagumo it's even worse.
    Click to expand...
    Losing Nagumo at this stage is a plus, when you look at his record post Pearl Harbor IOTL. The problem for the US is going to be if they Put Vice Admiral Ozawa in charge of what is left of the Kai Gun. He actually was more aggressive than Nagumo and was one of the first to understand the use of carriers in the IJN.

    Forgot to add, If Genda survives that is another plus for the Kai Gun and the IJN.
     
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    mattep74

    I recently saw a three piece documentury about the recovey of Pearl Harbor from Drachinifel, 5 minutes guide to warships. It was intresting to see the effects of the attack. Nice story so far
     
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