For Pearl Harbor the Japanese forged a strategic weapon of six heavy carriers for a coordinated attack by 360 planes on Sunday, Dec. 7, 1941. Never had any country executed and/or planned a raid by more than two carriers on any naval or land target. No inkling existed within allied operational or intelligence communities of an attack capability beyond the 21 torpedo bombers a British carrier used to attack the Italian navy at Taranto.

On Christmas Day 1941 Admiral Chester Nimitz arrived to take command at Pearl Harbor. When he arrived, he saw a sunken battle fleet and was assailed by a poisonous atmosphere from black oil, charred wood, burned paint, and rotting flesh. However, he found the general perception of disaster to be wrong. The dry-docks, repair shops, and tank farm were intact. The carriers, their escorts, and the submarines stood ready to take the offensive.

The tragedy of Pearl Harbor for the Japanese was that it required them to contend with the U.S. Navy from its forward base in Hawaii, rather than forcing their enemy to begin operations from the West Coast. Japan achieved tactical victory but lost the opportunity for a strategic victory achieving control over much of the Pacific Ocean.

Nimitz immediately sent submarines into Japanese waters and conducted carrier operations thwarting Japanese initiatives. Admiral Raymond Spruance said of Nimitz, “The one big thing about him was that he was always ready to fight . And he wanted officers who would push the fight to the Japanese.”

Nolan Nelson

Redmond

Editor’s Note

Editor’s Note

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