And the General Commander was supposed to make the decision whether it would be a surprise attack as scheduled or whether it might end up as a contested assault—with signaling instructions given accordingly. If a surprise attack is possible, the torpedo bombing squadron is given the first order of attack. Before enemy anti-aircraft fire begins, the torpedo bombing squadron will intrude deep into the enemy defense at ultra-low altitude and will spearhead the attack. On the other hand, in the event of a contested assault, the first order of the attack is given to the bombing squadron with the aim of bombing and destroying the enemy’s grounded planes and anti-aircraft guns, then to have the torpedo bombers penetrate enemy defenses while the enemy is regrouping. However, whether we could follow our plan of a surprise attack or not depended totally on the enemy’s response, not on our wishful thinking.
“Matsuzaki, carefully watch the sky above Oahu. Enemy fighters might approach.”
Immediately, I myself carefully scanned the skies above, straining my eyes. If scattered dots as small as pinheads should appear in the distance, they would soon become bigger—like flies, then like small birds and, finally, we would see the arrival of enemy attack fighters. I had had enough experience of this in China, and I kept a careful watch so that I would not miss a single pinhead.
Gradually, the clouds became thinner with more breaks. However, the land was still not in sight except for the beach line. Our position was already considerably to the west. We might have to delay the opportunity to launch our surprise attack if we did not deploy any time soon now.
“Matsuzaki, it seems we can go with the surprise attack.”
“Yes, I also think it’s a surprise attack.”
“Good. I am giving the order for deployment. Maintain this altitude, turn to the south, and stay along the west side of the island.”
“Yes, Sir.”
Then, I opened the windshield and shot a flare downward with my signal pistol. The signal flare flowed, dragging a tail of black smoke. One flare was the command of deployment for the launch of the surprise attack. The time was 7:40 AM.
Having completed giving the order for deployment, I was watching the movements of each group. The torpedo bombing squadron was lowering its altitude. Meanwhile, the air superiority squadron that was supposed to increase speed to take the lead position did not move into action. I guessed that it must have been because they missed seeing the signal due to clouds that blocked their visibility. Then I released another signal flare towards the air superiority squadron. This time, the air superiority squadron immediately understood, gathered speed and advanced towards the sky above Oahu.
However, this caused an unintended error. Seeing the second signal, the commander of the dive bombing squadron, Lieutenant Commander Takahashi, misinterpreted it as a two-flare signal. Two flares were the signal for the command of a no-surprise assault, meaning that the dive bombers should take the lead in the attack.
Consequently, both the dive bombing and the torpedo bombing squadrons found themselves spearheading the attack. But this resulted in a simultaneous attack, a sort of unexpected success born out of a failure.
20
Our Surprise Attack Succeeds
From the voice tube, I heard Matsuzaki say, “Commander, the glass is clouded, and I can’t see well, so I will open the windshield.”
“OK,” I responded, and Matsuzaki opened the windshield over his seat. Then, a gust of wind blew in, and something white, rubbing the windshield, flew away. Wondering what it was, I looked as it floated away from the plane. It was a muffler that Matsuzaki had been wearing around his neck. As this had sentimental value for Matsuzaki, I felt sorry for his loss and watched the falling muffler. Then, beyond the disappearing muffler, Pearl Harbor came into sight across the Oahu Plain.
“Commander, I see Pearl Harbor,” Matsuzaki reported to me, gasping.
“I see it myself. Lieutenant, turn the needle to the south to bring the plane to Barbers Point.”
Having given the instruction, I took the binoculars and gazed at Pearl Harbor. “They’re here; they’re here.” Battleships with tripod masts and cage masts. One, two, three… I followed with my eyes and counted in my mind. As expected, the full set of eight battleships was at anchor. I felt my temperature rise, as I thought, “Thank goodness, they’re here.”
I glanced at my watch. It was 12 minutes to 8:00. If I issued the order to attack now, the first bomb would be dropped exactly at 8:00 AM. The air-raid on Pearl Harbor was scheduled to commence at 8:00AM.
I looked back at the telegrapher. “Chief Petty Officer Mizuki, send the message to all planes: All forces attack.”
Mizuki clicked the telegraphic key. It was the repeated transmission of a simple abbreviation. “To-To-To.”
“Commander, transmission of the attack message has been completed.”
“Yosh! [Good!]”
The time was 7:49 AM, December 7, 1941. In Tokyo, it was 3:19 in the morning, December 8th. As I look back, that moment signaled the raising of the curtain on the cursed Pacific War.
After having given the command to attack, I turned around Barbers Point guiding the level bombing squadron under my direct control, trying to measure the timing to commence the attack. We could see the air base at Barbers Point to our left, but there was not a single plane there.
I turned my eyes to Pearl Harbor. The area was still covered thinly with the morning mist. It was a quiet sight, and it might just have been me, but Pearl Harbor appeared to be asleep still. There was no sign of an air fight happening in the sky above. There were no flashes of anti-aircraft fire coming from the ground. The surprise attack seemed to have succeeded. I thought, “As I have brought matters this far, even before seeing the end-result, I have confidence in the skill of the air squadrons that they will achieve success.” I thought that it would be better to hasten the report. Not only Admiral Yamamoto himself, but also Imperial Headquarters and all Navy and Army troops in the Western Pacific Ocean were waiting anxiously to hear about the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor.
I looked back at the telegrapher. “Mizuki, send the message by ko-type radio wave. We have succeeded with our surprise attack.”
“Yes, Sir.”
As if having waited for this moment impatiently, the Chief Petty Officer immediately clicked the key. It was a repeated transmission of “Tora-Tora-Tora.”
“Commander, Akagi has understood the transmission of ‘Tora-Tora-Tora.’”
“Good.”
It was 7:53 AM, four minutes after giving the order to all forces to attack.
Later, I learned that this message had been received directly by both Imperial Headquarters in Tokyo as well as the Nagato anchored in Hiroshima Bay, before the message had been relayed by the Akagi. In those days, we could not expect to deliver a message a distance of 3,000 nautical miles with the limited power of a small telegraphic instrument mounted on a plane. Referring to an old folktale, they said that probably a tiger that traveled 1,000 miles came back the same 1,000 miles.
Thus, without losing time, “Tora-Tora-Tora” was broadcast to Taiwan, French Indochina, Malaya, Borneo, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Guam and Wake Island. And the Imperial Army divisions, stationed across Asia, which had been holding their collective breath to hear the outcome of our air-raid, went into their respective planned combat actions.
I was relieved to have reported “Tora-Tora-Tora” myself, but it was yet to be proved if the surprise attack would really succeed and annihilate the US Pacific Fleet. I stood up on the seat with the binoculars in my hands and started to give out combat orders, paying attention to the surrounding battle conditions.
As soon as we saw black smoke coming up from Hickam Airfield, smoke came up from Ford Island as well. Soon after, I saw columns of water rising one after another where the battleships were berthed. The battle was developing in our favor.
The 51 planes of the dive bombing squadron led by Lieutenant Commander Takahashi split up into two groups. The Shokaku group under his
direct control headed for the bases at Hickam and Ford Island, and the Zuikaku group, led by Lieutenant Akira Sakamoto, headed to Wheeler Base.
When Takahashi looked down, he saw huge hangars lining the airfield, and on the apron heavy bombers were parked side by side. He salivated. Then he banked his plane, entered his dive and dropped a bomb. Soon after, the second plane followed, then the third, and the fourth…Because of Takahashi’s misunderstanding that he should spearhead the attack, it was 7:55 when the first bomb was dropped on Hickham Field, five minutes earlier than planned.
It was also 7:55 when the group led by Sakamoto dropped their bombs on Wheeler Base. On the airfield, as many as 100 fighters were parked on the apron in front of the hangar, all neatly lined up. Recognizing this situation, Sakamoto’s planes attacked from the leeward and not the windward side in order to prevent the ensuing black smoke from screening the targets for the following planes. This showed admirable calm and appropriate behavior. Thus, at the inception of the attack, most of the enemy fighters were prevented from leaving the ground.
Meanwhile, Murata, who had seen the dive bombing squadron hit the airfields, rushed to his targets before they were obscured by the black smoke. And at 7:57, the torpedo launched by Murata hit the battleship West Virginia and raised the first water column of our attack. The number of water columns increased in succession as the torpedo bombers flew in.
I was satisfied as I observed the battle scenes. In any event, there was no time to order corrections. It was now time for the level bombing squadron, under my direct control, and I guided them towards Pearl Harbor. Our targets were the battleships moored on the east side of Ford Island.
“Chief Petty Officer Mizuki, send the tsu-repeat order to the level bombing squadron.” This was the attack order specifically meant for the level bombing squadron. A to-repeat order was for the entire attack force. Our communications abbreviations were kept very simple, as simplicity is a fundamental principle of war strategy.
The level bombing squadron broke into ten groups of five planes each, forming a line astern. The planes kept a distance of 200 meters in order to avoid the turbulence of the “fart” [meaning the air current created by the forward plane]. This resulted in an extremely long line of planes. They were on a bombing course from the southwest to the northeast. Our bombing altitude was 3,000 meters.
“Commander, I will position the bombing guide plane to the front.”
“Yosh! [OK!]”
The bombing guide plane was currently following the lead plane. The pilot was Chief Petty Flight Officer Shoichi Watanabe, and the bombardier was Chief Petty Flight Officer Yanosuke Aso, an excellent combination, always having achieved outstanding performance in the fleet’s bombing drills.
Matsuzaki sent a quick signal, to which Watanabe nodded. The first plane increased its altitude slightly. The second plane advanced forward to take the lead position. And then the first plane decreased its altitude and took the position previously held by the second plane. Thus, under the lead of the bombing guide plane, the planes entered their bombing course. Looking like the famous bearded, wide-eyed Buddhist monk from India, Bodhidharma, Aso could be seen through the windshield. As our eyes met, he saluted, smiling. I raised my hand signaling, “Do your best.” Then, he nodded, “You can depend on us.”
The targets for the level bombing squadron under my direct control were the battleships anchored at the mooring posts on the eastern side of Ford Island, and it was decided for each bombing sub-squadron to select the targets in the order that they appeared from the north. Therefore, the target for the first bombing sub-squadron, which included my plane, was the battleship Nevada.
As expected, the enemy anti-aircraft fire flashed when we approached the entrance to Pearl Harbor. Based on the fact that they launched a counterattack five minutes after the start of our attack, I saw that they had been well prepared for battle.
Enemy anti-aircraft fire concentrated on my sub-squadron group as we spear-headed the level bombing attack. Through effective firing adjustments, the enemy barrage approached steadily. But we could not afford to deviate from our planned bombing course. Black smoke from bursting shells flowed around the plane. It was not comfortable. The altitude was only 3,000 meters. I thought we would be hit. Ducking my head, I tried not to look, but then the explosion from a shell made me feel itchy around my buttocks. In an instant, the bullet hole became big enough to see the sky through the opening.
With a banging sound, the plane was severely rocked. Matsuzaki asked me, “Commander, where were we hit?”
While I was going to check the damage myself, Mizuki responded. “A shell splinter hit the left rear of our fuselage and has ripped open a hole. The control cable was cut, and it’s supported only by a single strand. I cannot reach it to fix it.”
I felt very uneasy, but we were in the midst of battle. It was no time to feel uneasy.
“Matsuzaki, the control cable is almost cut. Don’t make any sudden moves.”
“Yes, I got it. So far no problem; we’re in control.”
“Good.”
Before long, we approached the targets. The course adjustment by the guiding plane became even more precise. As everything would depend on the timing, I focused my full attention on the guiding plane’s bomb, holding the dropping gear. At the moment the lead plane released its bomb, those of us in the following four planes would drop our bombs all together.
However, the guiding plane banked a bit, meaning that we would have to repeat our approach. I felt discouraged as we would have to go through the barrage of anti-aircraft fire again. What I learned later from Aso was that when they were very close to the point of releasing their bomb, he made a misalignment due to a disturbance by a small cloud. No one in our attack squadron would drop a bomb which was brought all the way to the sky above Pearl Harbor knowing that it would not hit its target. There was even a squadron group that repeated their approach three times until they were able to make a perfect alignment for their attack.
Thus, my first bombing squadron group made a big turn around to the right to repeat our attack approach. In the meantime, the second group that followed had started the level bombing attack. It was 8:04 AM when they dropped their bombs.
Then, when my first group was beginning the bombing run again, we saw a huge explosion among the battleships on the eastern side of Ford Island. Roaring flames and dark smoke flared high, rising up to 500 meters. I intuitively judged it as an induced explosion. Soon, the shock waves reached our formation even though we were quite far away. The plane shook. Lieutenant Matsuzaki, who was at the controls, raised his head in surprise.
I advised him: “Matsuzaki, the enemy ship’s magazine seems to have exploded.”
Matsuzaki opened the windshield, and, when he looked at the sight, the words that came out of his mouth were, “Bakayaro, zamamiri [“You fools! Serves you right!”]”
This ship that exploded and sank in an instant was the battleship Arizona. Two 800-kilogram armor-piercing bombs dropped by the second bombing group from the Kaga hit the ship, and the instant the second bomb hit the side of the Arizona’s second turret, a huge explosion went off. This was confirmed by the commander of the Kaga’s second squadron, Lieutenant Hideo Maki. Presumably, the bomb that hit the turret pierced through the armored deck, hurtled into the forward magazine and triggered the explosion.
The battle was at its full height. Black smoke filled the entire airspace over the battle area. With my binoculars, I performed close surveillance of the battleships. The Nevada at the north end was burning, but there was an indication that the ship was going to move. The ship that had exploded, the Arizona, was second from the north. Both the West Virginia, third on the outside, and the Tennessee, berthed on the inside, were enveloped by fierce flames. The fourth on the outside, the Oklahoma, had already capsized.
The Maryland, on the inside, somehow still seemed to be in good condition, so I decided to target that ship. I sent a hand signal to the guiding plane: “Aim
at the Maryland, the fourth ship on the inside.” Chief Petty Officer Abe nodded.
My first squadron group was on the bombing course again. Suddenly, we were attacked by a barrage of anti-aircraft fire that was even fiercer than the previous ones. “Boom”—we felt a shock. The third plane in our formation seemed to take a hit from a shell fragment. The wires holding its bomb harness were cut, and the bomb was falling. I was relieved as it was a near hit, but it was useless to have a plane without bombs stay with the formation. I sent a hand signal to the third plane, “Leave the line, and go back alone.”
Then I looked down to see the ripples on the water made by the bomb. There was a minesweeper-like ship nearby. At least the bomb had an effect and surprised the ship. I looked more closely and realized that it was a gate net. And now, because the bomb had exploded, the gate net was being closed.
Suddenly, I remembered the special mini-submarines which must have crept into Pearl Harbor overnight. Before the mission, I asked Fleet Commander Yamamoto to issue an order that the submarines should not start the attack under any circumstances, even if it appeared that there was an unexpected, ideal opportunity, because we had to secure the success of a surprise attack by our air squadrons. However, as I now saw, there was no hope for the mini-submarines to escape. I shouted from the bottom of my heart to the mini-submarines which might be submerged patiently at the bottom of Pearl Harbor at that moment: “Thanks, my fellow warriors. We will fight a good fight for you.”
Since I had ordered the third plane to return, my attack group now consisted of four planes. We focused once again on the target, the Maryland, and the signal from the guide plane indicated, “Ready for release.”
Breathless, gripping the bomb release, I waited for the moment to arrive. “Bombs away!” I pulled the bomb release, watched the bomb glide gently downward, then I lay on the seat to watch the descent of the falling bomb from the lower window. Four armor-piercing bombs were going down side-by-side. There is nothing so thrilling in the world than to see whether the bomb you have just dropped will hit its target. Before long, directly in front of the bombs which were moving in a straight line, the Maryland came closer. The bombs became smaller and smaller to the point that we would lose sight of them if we blinked. I stared, holding my breath. I felt a spine-tingling thrill. As soon as the bombs became pinheads, two white puffs of smoke shot up from the deck of the Maryland. “Two bombs have hit!”
For That One Day: The Memoirs of Mitsuo Fuchida, Commander of the Attack on Pearl Harbor Page 10
