Posted on 12/06/2015 2:08:37 PM PST by WhiskeyX
If the first wave flies into Pearl and doesn’t find the battle ships there, how much time do they have to go hunting for them? I wouldn’t think very much. I imagine they bomb what they can, and go (which might have ended up causing a bigger problem by taking out all of the fuel tanks....)
How many of the scattered destroyers were taken out? According to Wiki, the only three destroyers hit were in dry dock, so it seems that the minimal scattering sufficed.
Was maintaining air coverage at the time really that big a concern?
I’ve read enough about the several investigations into the attack, as well as the behavior of people like Geo Marshall, to believe that FDR didn’t know. He very definitely knew the hammer would fall and, to the hour, when. He/they knew Japan had the capability to attack Hawaii, there is can be no other reason for the blasé manner DC communicated with Hawaii during the 24 hours prior to the attack.
Although FDR probably was surprised by the effectiveness of the attack.
You’re thinking of HMS Exeter which the Japanese sank in the Java Sea a few months later.
“There was very much a lack of real-world analysis of the Japanese capabilities. Too much stereotyping of them as buck-toothed, myopic little yellow monkeys flying bamboo airplanes.”
How would that perception endure when we (Flying Tigers) had been flying against them unofficially since ‘37 or so in China/Burma?
The Graf Spee was contained by a British cruiser squadron consisting of CA Exeter, CL Ajax, and CL Achilles.
Prince of Wales, recently built when it was involved in hunt for Bismark (shake down crew on board), was a “modern” ship, with less than adequate antiaircraft protection as far as a modern war dictated. At what point were the twin 40 mm mounts incorporated on American battleships such as South Dakota class? Those introduced in 1942..
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.