Another thing to keep in mind on the whole third strike thing is that the Japanese were ultra Mahanian in their outlook and they believed you defeated an opposing navy by sinking ships, not by blowing up logistics targets. I know we can take this too far but at least according to some sources, the Japanese target priorities for December 7th were as follows:
- land-based airpower
- aircraft carriers
- battleships
- cruisers
- other warships
- merchant shipping
- port facilities
- land installations
Okay land based airpower and battleships have been taken care of and the carriers are not there. However, the cruisers, other warships, and any merchant shipping in port have not been touched. Fuel tanks (those are land installations) are at the bottom of the list and there are still several targets they need to get through before they get to those. I realize Fuchida claims he told Nagumo they should attack the tank farm next. Frankly, I think Fuchida was lying through his f--king teeth. He's trying to play the whole, "If Nagumo had just listened to me game," and I'm not buying his BS.