Operation K
Presumed flight path of the Kawanishi H8K
| date | March 4, 1942 |
|---|---|
| place | Pearl Harbor , Hawaii |
| output | Bombing failed, minimal civil damage |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
| Commander | |
| Troop strength | |
| no | 5 submarines , 2 Kawanishi H8K flying boats . |
| losses | |
|
according to Japanese figures approx. 30 dead, a house, a warehouse, a crane, USD 300,000 damage; |
no |
The operation K ( Jap. K作戦 , Ke sakusen ), not to be confused with the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 was a strategic bombing raid, which the 4. March 1942 of two flying boats of the Japanese navy against Pearl Harbor was flown . The aim of this attack was to collect reconnaissance data, impede repair work on the military installations and weaken American morale.
planning
The plan for this attack was developed by Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto in January 1942. He discussed it with his personal staff, which included Admiral Ugaki Matome .
The staff passed the plan on to the Imperial Naval Staff in Tokyo. The Imperial Staff took the plan, and Admiral Shigetarō Shimada , Admiral Osami Nagano and Rear Admiral Shigeru Fukudome yet discussed it again with Yamamoto. The plan stipulated that five submarines with jet fuel and bombs would be in position at the French Frigate Atoll , while five seaplanes of the type Kawanishi H8K Emily would fly in from the bases in the Marshall Islands , then, filled with tanks and each with four 250- kg bombs loaded, bombing Pearl Harbor and then returning to Jaluit base in the Marshall Islands. It was the longest flight route at this point in the war.
attack
In the morning hours of March 4, the submarines were in position, but only two of the flying boats arrived a few hours later. They reached Pearl Harbor in the first hours of March 5th. Because of the clouds and the arranged darkening , it was difficult for them to orientate themselves and to find destinations. After dropping their bombs, they returned to the submarines, where they refueled and then took off.
Review
The pilots of both flying boats, Hisao Hashizume and Shosuke Sasao, reported after the mission that they could not say anything about the results of their bombing because the thick clouds had blocked their view. Just six days later, Hisao Hashizume was killed when his flying boat was shot down during a reconnaissance flight over Midway .
Both sides kept the attack a secret for a long time. When Japanese newspapers later reported the attack, they referred to an alleged report by a Los Angeles radio station that reported 30 dead, 70 wounded and significant damage to military facilities. However, the American documents of the attack register only a few wounded and no dead.
literature
- Steve Horn: The Second Attack on Pearl Harbor: Operation K and Other Japanese Attempts to Bomb America in World War II. US Naval Institute Press, 2005, ISBN 978-1-59114-388-8 .
- Matome Ugaki : Fading Victory. Naval Institute Press, Annapolis 1992.
- Bernard Millot: The Pacific War. BUR, Montreuil 1967.
Individual evidence
- ^ Matome Ugaki: Fading Victory. 1992.
- ^ Jürgen Rohwer , Gerhard Hümmelchen : Chronicle of the naval war 1939-1945. On the website of the Württemberg State Library Stuttgart 2007.
- ↑ Steve Horn: The 2nd Attack on Pearl Harbor. Naval Institute Press, pp. 101, 102