Pearl Harbour:

The turning point of the 20th Century

by Roshan Dandeniya

Seventy two years ago, an aerial strike force gathered over the seas of Pacific, broke radio silence with the pre-arranged codeword "Tora, Tora, Tora" meaning "Tiger, Tiger, Tiger" or "Attack, Attack, Attack" and executed an historical surprise attack on the US Pacific fleet. It was the most devastating attack on the Americans forces in the history. The aim was to bring the nation to its knees. Will their dream become a reality?

On the morning of 7th of December, 1941, with only 18 days left till Christmas, people were getting ready for the festive season in Hawaii, the 50th state of the United States of America today. Back in the 1940s, US servicemen counted themselves lucky if they were posted in Hawaiian Islands, one of the world's most exotic locations. After all, the United State was at peace, not yet actively involved in the Second World War. But, nobody knew that the world was about to change beyond all recognition within few hours.

Just 300 miles off Oahu, a fleet of warships was bearing silently down on the island. America, was about to be propelled into World War 2. Heading unseen for the Hawaiian Islands, was the combined fleet of imperial Japanese Navy. This armada had departed from Japan in absolute secrecy across 4000 miles of the Pacific Ocean under total radio silence.

This battle fleet was the most powerful naval force ever to put to sea. It had been sent to attack the United States by the hardline military government of Japan. The Japanese was set on building an empire in Asia and the Pacific. By late 1941, Japan was already in control of Korea and was engaged in a long war for control of China.

It also set its sights on European colonies in the region such as French-Indo China, British Malaya and Dutch East Indies, in addition to Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia. The Europeans were engaged in a war with Germany. So the only thing standing between the Japanese and their vision of an empire was the United State Navy, and in particular, America's main naval base in the centre of Pacific on the Hawaiian Island of Oahu.

The name of the base was Pearl Harbour, one of the finest natural harbours in the world. The harbour was a perfect haven for America's Pacific fleet. With nearly 100 ships that anchored, eight of them were battleships moored to the quay. All of them engaged in the relaxed routine of a peace time navy.

The approaching Japanese fleet included battleships, cruisers and destroyers. But at the heart of this armada were six enormous aircraft carriers with floating airstrips packed with over 400 fighter, torpedo and bomber aircraft. The man at the forefront was the commander-in-chief of the Imperial Japanese Navy, Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto.

By 1941, Japan had around three times more carriers in the central Pacific than the Americans. Yamamoto had created a formidable carrier force capable of pursuing Japan's imperial ambitions and by Sunday the 7th December 1941, six of his aircraft carriers were in position, ready to mount a surprise attack on Pearl Harbour. Yamamoto's aircraft planed to crush American naval power and obliterate their air power on the ground, before they could even take off. Their prime target was huge naval carriers, the pride of America's Pacific fleet.

The attacking forces came in two waves, the first consisting of 183 aircraft which included 40 torpedo planes, 49 level bombers, 51 dive bombers and 43 "Zero" fighters. The second wave included 170 planes, 54 level bombers, 80 dive-bombers and 36 fighters. Over 353 Japanese aircraft were involved in overall attack led by Commander Mitsuo Fuchida.

At Pearl Harbour that Sunday morning, the main event on many sailors' mind was daily flag raising ceremony. At 7.55 am ship's companies gathered and 5 minutes later the flags would be raised right across the fleet. On board the USS Nevada, a band was gathering on the deck preparing to play the national anthem.

Meanwhile, veering in from the north, the Torpedo bombers spearheaded the strike. From that moment, every aircraft was supposed to follow a carefully orchestrated attack plan. Plan A was to launch a surprise attack with the Torpedo bombers first and Dive bombers to go in second. If the enemy saw them coming and was prepared for the assault, plan B was for Dive bombers to attack first followed by Torpedo bombers. But when the attack leader fired the single flare to signal that they should execute plan A, many pilots did not see it. When the second flare was fired, pilots who saw the first one thought they were going for plan B. In utter confusion, the entire fleet unleashed a massive attack at once creating catastrophic explosions on the ground. The attack was underway before the American sailors knew what hit them. The peaceful Sunday morning was shattered by devastating aerial bombardment. Some thought it was obviously a drill. But it looked too realistic.

Unable to overcome unpredicted shock of their lives, the sailors and marines on American battleships plunged into the fight of their lives. Vital seconds passed before the American initiated any sort of meaningful defense.

When the attack ended shortly before 10 a.m., less than two hours after it began, the American forces had paid a fearful price. Twenty-one ships of the U.S. Pacific fleet were sunk or damaged. At least 188 aircraft were completely destroyed and 159 severely damaged. There were a total of 2,403 American casualties, including 68 civilians, most of them killed by improperly fused anti-aircraft shells landing in the island. There were 1,178 military and civilian wounded.

The most serious casualty was the USS Arizona. One torpedo and eight bombs hit her with 1,760 pounds of explosives, as she lay moored up at Ford Island Naval Station. One bomb is thought to have pierced the forward deck setting off over one million pounds of gunpowder. 1,177 men were killed on the Arizona alone.

Japanese losses were comparatively low. Twenty-nine planes, less than 10 percent of the attacking force, failed to return to their carriers. The Japanese success was overwhelming, but not complete.

As fate would have it, US aircraft carriers that were to be primary targets in the attack were out from the harbor. USS Enterprise and USS Lexington were at sea, delivering aircraft to marine fighter squadron at a distant location. The USS Saratoga was on its way to San Diego for repairs. The Japanese also failed to damage shore side facilities of the naval base. These facilities played an important role in the Allied victory in World War II.

The Americans strongly believed Pearl Harbor as impenetrable. The naval station could only be approached by narrow waterways that were only 40 feet in depth and fully protected by anti-submarine nets. Such was the confidence of the naval command at Pearl Harbor, which the Pacific Fleet was lined up in what was known as "Battleship Row".

US President Franklin D. Roosevelt said of the attack that "it was a date which will live in infamy" and "no matter how long it may take for us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory."

Pearl Harbour was the dividing line between the past and the future. It brought the America into the war, tipped the balance of power and favoured the Allies leading to Hitler's defeat. Before Pearl Harbour, the America was a third-rate military power. After Pearl Harbour, America emerged as the super power and nobody challenged its supremacy.

Most devastatingly, it was the spark that ignited atomic bombs that Americans dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki where Japan paid the ultimate price with hundreds of thousands of lives for the grave mistake they did.