Pearl Harbor: The Japanese Battle Fleet

[The Sailor]

That day on December 7th Listen to Faith Hill's song whilst you look at what is in this thread. Click on it and minus it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63dIlSug9dA&feature=related

ATTACK FORCE - Vice Adm Naguma

Carriers
Akagi
Kaga
Soryu
Hiryu
Zuikaku
Shokaku

SUPPORT FORCE - Vice Adm Mikawa

Battleships
Hiei
Kirisima
Heavy Cruisers
Tone
Chikuma

SCOUTING FORCE - Rear Adm Omori

Light Cruiser - flagship of destroyer flotilla
Abukuma CL

Destroyers
Tanikaze
Hamakaze
Urakaze
Kasumi
Arare
Kagero
Shiranuhi
Akigumo
Isokaze or Asakaze ?
Midway Attack
Ushio
Akebono or Sazanami ?

SUPPLY FORCE.

Tankers
Kyokuto - flagship
Kyokuyo or Akebono ?
Kenyo
Kokuyo
Shinkoku
Toho
Toei
Nippon

SUBMARINE FORCE

Three fleet reconnaissance: I-19, I-21, I-23.
These travel with the strike fleet and are the only ones the
public seems to know about and considers part of the attack.
There were many more.
Five attack submarines with five midget submarines strapped aboard:
I-16 with A, I-18 w/E, I-20 w/D, I-22 w/B, I-24 w/C.
The five midget subs, each capable of penetrating Pearl Harbor
and each firing two torpedoes:
Ha. A, B, C, D, E.
Twenty other subs were stationed in Hawaiian waters.
Squadron 1: I-9, I-15, I-17, I-25.
Squadron 2: I-1, I-2, I-3, I-4, I-5, I-6, I-7.
Squadron 3: I-8, I-68, I-69, I-70, I-71, I-72, I-73, I-74, I-75.

[BB60]

Here are the fates of the Japanese Ships that were part of the Kido Butai



Fates of Japanese Attack Force at Pearl Harbor


1st Air Fleet, Admiral C. Nagumo, IJN
CV-Akagi
Set on fire by planes from Enterprise (CV-6), 4 June 1942. Torpedoed and scuttled by destroyers Arashi and Nowaki on 5 June 1942 northwest of Midway Island
CV- Kaga
Set on fire by planes from Enterprise (CV-6) (http://www.navsource.org/archives/02/06.htm) and sunk, 4 June 1942 northwest of Midway Island
CV- Hiryu
Set on fire by planes from Yorktown (CV-5) (http://www.navsource.org/archives/02/05.htm) and Enterprise (CV-6) (http://www.navsource.org/archives/02/06.htm), 4 June 1942 Torpedoed and scuttled by destroyers Kazegumo and Yugumo, 5 June 1942. North West of Midway Island
CV- Soryu
Set on fire and blown up by planes from Yorktown (CV-5) (http://www.navsource.org/archives/02/05.htm). Sunk northwest of Midway Island, 4 June 1942
Nautilus (SS-168) (http://www.navsource.org/archives/08/08168.htm) claims to have delivered the death blow by hitting Soryu with two torpedoes shortly after she was hit by Yorktown`s aircraft
CV- Shokaku
Sunk by 3 torpedoes fired from Cavalla (SS-244) (http://www.navsource.org/archives/08/08244.htm) 140 miles north of Yap Island, 19 June 1944
CV- Zuikaku
Struck by 6 torpedoes and 7 bombs from aircraft from Essex (CV-9) (http://www.navsource.org/archives/02/09.htm) and Lexington (CV-16) (http://www.navsource.org/archives/02/02.htm) and sunk 220 miles east northeast of Cape Engano, 25 October 1944
BB- Hiei
Crippled by 50 shell hits of 8 inch or less during the first Naval Battle Of Guadalcanal. Struck by 4 torpedoes from aircraft of Enterprise (CV-6) (http://www.navsource.org/archives/02/06.htm) and sunk off Savo Island, 13 November 1942
BB- Kirishima
Disabled by gunfire from Washington (BB-56) (http://www.navsource.org/archives/01/56a.htm) during the Second Battle Of Guadalcanal. Kirishima received nine 16 inch and over forty 5 inch hits at a range of only 8400 yards and was scuttled, 15 November 1942
CA- Tone
Sunk in shallow water by aircraft from Task Force 38 near Kure Island, 24 July 1945, broken up for scrap in 1948
CA - Chickuma
Torpedoed by aircraft from Task Force 77.4.2 northeast of Samar. Scuttled by torpedoes from destroyer Nowake October 25 1944
CL- Abukuma
Bombed by U.S.A.A.F. aircraft 10 miles Southeast of Negros, Philippine Islands, 24 October 1944. Sank 26 October 1944
DD- Tanikaze
Torpedoed and sunk by Harder (SS-257) (http://www.navsource.org/archives/08/08257.htm) 90 miles South West of Basilan, 9 June 1944
DD- Urakaze
Torpedoed and sunk by Sealion (SS-315) (http://www.navsource.org/archives/08/08315.htm) 65 miles north northwest of Keelung, Formosa, 21 November 1944
DD- Isokaze
Damaged by aircraft of Task Force 58. Scuttled 150 miles southwest of Nagasaki, 7 April 1945
DD- Hamakaze
Sunk by aircraft from Hornet (CV-12) (http://www.navsource.org/archives/02/12.htm) and Cabot (CVL-28) (http://www.navsource.org/archives/02/28.htm) 150 miles Southwest of Nagasaki, 7 April 1945
DD- Kasumi
Badly damaged by aircraft from Task Force 58. Scuttled 150 miles Southwest of Nagasaki, 7 April 1945
DD- Arare
Torpedoed and sunk by Growler (SS-215) (http://www.navsource.org/archives/08/08215.htm) 7 miles east of Kiska Harbor, Alaska 5 July 1942
DD- Kagero
Damaged by a mine and sunk by US Navy aircraft 5 miles southwest of Rendova, 8 May 1943
DD- Shiranui
Sunk by aircraft of Task Force 77 80 miles north of Panay, 27 October 1944
DD- Akigumo
Torpedoed and sunk by Redfin (SS-272) (http://www.navsource.org/archives/08/08272.htm) 30 miles southeast of Zamboanga, 11 April 1944
DD- Akebono
Sailed with Pearl Harbor Task Force but was assigned to bombard Midway Island. Sunk by aircraft from Task Force 38 in Manila Bay, 13 November 1944
DD- Ushio
Sailed with Pearl Harbor Task Force but was assigned to bombard Midway Island. Ushio was the only Japanese ship that took part on the attack on Pearl Harbor not to be sunk during the war. Ushio surrendered badly damaged and was scrapped in 1946

Supply Group No.1, Captain, Masanao, IJN
Kyokuto Maru - Sunk by US Navy aircraft, 21 September 1944
Kenyo Maru - Sunk by Whale (SS-239) (http://www.navsource.org/archives/08/08239.htm), 23 March
Kokuyo Maru - Sunk By Bonefish (SS-223) (http://www.navsource.org/archives/08/08223.htm), 30 July 1944
Shinkoku Maru - Sunk by US Navy Aircraft at Truk, 17 February 1944
Supply Group No.2, Captain Kazutaka Niimi IJN
Toho Maru - Sunk by Gudgeon (SS-211) (http://www.navsource.org/archives/08/08211.htm), 29 March 1943
Nippon Maru (i.e. Nihon Maru) - Sunk by Scamp (SS-277) (http://www.navsource.org/archives/08/08277.htm), 14 January 1944
Toei Maru - Sunk By Silversides (SS-236), 18 January 1943.

[herakles]

And good riddance to them Jeff!

[TheDigger]

I am travelling to Honolulu in May and I will certainly be calling in to the Pearl Harbour Monument. December the 7th definetly a "Day of Infamy" Looking at the Japanese fleet none looked like they escaped destruction they seem to have got their just desserts.

[TheDigger]

The Japanese Torpedo used at Pearl Harbour was the Type 91 Mod 2

It was modified for the shallow water of Pearl Harbor, wooden fins were fitted so as to as make them dive less deeply upon entry into the water.

Specifications of the Type 91

Diameter17.7"
Length 18' 0"
Total Weight 1841 lbs.
Explosive Weight 452 lbs.
Range 2000m @ 41 kts
Max Launch Speed 260 kts.

[The Sailor]

Digger, you are spelling Harbour as harbor. Just remember where you are. This is a British forum and most of us here are damn fine chaps. We all speak the Kings English.

Notice I said the 'King's english'? I have never heard of the Queen's english.
Anyone want to disagree with this observation?

[TheDigger]

The Queens English it will be, I work for an American company and some of their stuff just rubs off, so my apologies and I will be more dilligent in the future.

[The Sailor]

Hmmmm. Where is that septic tank when you need him?

[herakles]

There are so many varieties of English spoken these days. There's certainly no standard any more. About the only fairly true version of English left is the written one it seems.

[The Sailor]

Yes Herk, but Australians have gone a long way to fixing this problem. We viewed all the others and made a perfect language. What a wonderfully pure form of English we have here.

[herakles]

I feel the best that can be said about Australian English is that it is almost completely free of dialect. It's the same all over the country.

[Harley]

Technically Sailor, it is Received Pronunciation and therefore refers to the monarch who uses it, who in your case is Queen Elizabeth of Australia. :D

Impressive just how many Japenese ships got sent beneath the waves. Very impressive.

Harley

[BB60]

Digger, you are spelling Harbour as harbor. Just remember where you are. This is a British forum and most of us here are damn fine chaps. We all speak the Kings English.

Notice I said the 'King's english'? I have never heard of the Queen's english.
Anyone want to disagree with this observation?

Ah, but you are referring to a US possession whose name is spelled without the pesky U. To be correct, even if it isn't spelled by the owners in the manner of the King's English, you should refer to it without the U. It would be like spelling my name Geoff or me calling The Sailor, Graham, which is how that name is rendered, for the most part, here in the Colonies.

Hmmmm. Where is that septic tank when you need him?

Always lurking about.

[herakles]

We'll convert you yet Jeff!

[BB60]

We'll convert you yet Jeff!

You're fighting an uphill battle, I am American by birth and Southern by the grace of God.

[The Sailor]

Well here's the Hawaiin state flag for that place spelt without using the King's english. Couldn't you think of something else?

[herakles]

There's a story told, probably apocrophyl that when the Queen and Duke were once visiting Hawaii, their cavalcade passed through cheering crowds all waving the state flag. She is said to have turned to Philip and said: I didn't know we still owned this place!

[romft1945]

No comment war is war the queens English is ENGLISH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:mad:

[Kevin Denlay]

The harbour and harbor 'controversy' reminds me of another oft brought up and oft argued over term, aluminium and aluminum. Same product different spelling 'over there'. After all, and no offence meant to our brothers across the pond, those yanks just have their own way of doing things. ;-))

K

[BB60]

The harbour and harbor 'controversy' reminds me of another oft brought up and oft argued over term, aluminium and aluminum. Same product different spelling 'over there'. After all, and no offence meant to our brothers across the pond, those yanks just have their own way of doing things. ;-))

K
Yeah, for better or for worse.

Well here's the Hawaiin state flag for that place spelt without using the King's english. Couldn't you think of something else?
I had nothing to do with that...thing.:p

Want to see a smart looking flag, then look no further than my signature below.

[The Sailor]

You call that a flag? Looks like something my teachers used to put on the bottom of my exam papers.

[kc]

In our paintings on the commercial sites we always called Pearl Harbor by its American spelling, since it is an American place. It's their harbour, and I believe pronouns should be excluded from traditional spelling. Not really a serious thread as regards spelling, but worth chiming in on. If I called my nearest city Glasgow, and someone called it Glaschau, I would still refer to it as Glasgow, whether right by their language or not.

[BB60]

In our paintings on the commercial sites we always called Pearl Harbor by its American spelling, since it is an American place. It's their harbour, and I believe pronouns should be excluded from traditional spelling. Not really a serious thread as regards spelling, but worth chiming in on. If I called my nearest city Glasgow, and someone called it Glaschau, I would still refer to it as Glasgow, whether right by their language or not.
Sounds like a good thing to me.
You call that a flag? Looks like something my teachers used to put on the bottom of my exam papers.
Well they both served the same purpose. That X on your exams warned you not to make those mistakes again. The Cross of St. Andrew warns you not to mess with Alabama, which also would be a mistake.

[herakles]

The harbour and harbor 'controversy' reminds me of another oft brought up and oft argued over term, aluminium and aluminum. Same product different spelling 'over there'. After all, and no offence meant to our brothers across the pond, those yanks just have their own way of doing things. ;-))

K

Sir Humphray Davy discovered this metal early in the 19th century.

He spelt it as "aluminum". I don't know why it changed but clearly the Americans stuck with the original spelling.

Much if not all American spelling is correct. It's just that English English moved on and the American didn't. A good example is the word "dove" as the past of dive - not the bird. This is completely correct but somewhat archaic.

The same happened with pronunciation. For example: vitamin is pronounced (incorrectly) in England with a soft "i". Everywhere else it has a hard "i". The word is a short form of: vital amine.

[Kevin Denlay]

Here, here KC! At the risk of having the Sailor put one across my bows for siding with out 'cousins' on the other side, it's their 'Pearl Harbor' and they can spell it an damn way they please.

K

[BB60]

. It's just that English English moved on and the American didn't. A good example is the word "dove" as the past of dive - not the bird. This is completely correct but somewhat archaic.
I've read in several places that English spoken in the Appalacians Mountians of the US sounds closer to what was spoken in Elizabethan England than any other accent.

What it the past tense of dive in the UK, dived?

Here, here KC! At the risk of having the Sailor put one across my bows for siding with out 'cousins' on the other side, it's their 'Pearl Harbor' and they can spell it an damn way they please.

K
You gave me a good laugh with that Kevin. Reputation points for you from me.

[herakles]

It is dived Jeff.

It's an over-simplification but it is said that US English is essentially 18th Century English and Australian is 19th Century. Both great nations isolated from main-stream language developments. Rather Darwinian isn't it! Like the finches in the Galapagos Islands.

[Yamatoholic]

Those holding command positions during the operation fared somewhat better:

Fleet Command
Chuichi Nagumo - (C-in-C, 1st Air Fleet & ComCarDiv 1) - Suicide on Saipan 8 July 1944; promoted ADM posthumosly.

CV, BB, & CA Division Commanders
Tamon Yamaguchi - (ComCarDiv 2) - KIA on Hiryu, 5 June 1942; promoted VADM posthumously.

CV COs
Kiichi Hasegawa - (Akagi) - Promoted RADM 1 November 1942; KIA 29 March 1944; promoted VADM posthumously.
Jisaku Okada - (Kaga) - KIA while still CO of Kaga, 4 June 1942; promoted RADM posthumously
Ryusaku Yanagimoto - (Soryu) - KIA while still CO of Soryu, 4 June 1942; promoted RADM posthumously.
Tomeo Kaku - (Hiryu) - KIA while still CO of Hiryu, 5 June 1942; promoted RADM posthumously.

ComDesDivs
Kaju Sugiura - (ComDesDiv 17) - Promoted RADM 1 May 1945; KIA as CO of CA Haguro, 16 May 1945; posthumously promoted VADM.
Kaname Konishi - (ComDesDiv 7) - KIA as CO of CV Unryu, 19 December 1944; posthumously promoted RADM.

ComSubDivs
Nobuki Nakaoka - (ComSubDiv 12) - KIA as CO of CA Atago, 5 November 1943; posthumously promoted RADM.
Toshio Otake - (ComSubDiv 20) - KIA while still serving as ComSubDiv 20 when division flagship (SS I-73) torpedoed and sunk, 27 January 1942; posthumously promoted RADM same date.

DD COs
Motoi Katsumi - (Tanikaze) - KIA while still CO of DD Tanikaze, 14 January 1943.
Tsuneo Orita - (Hamakaze) - Promoted Captain 1 November 1943; KIA as ComDesDiv 32 when division flagship (DD Hayanami) torpedoed and sunk, 7 June 1944; posthumously promoted RADM.
Minoru Yokoi - (Kagero) - Died from a disease contracted at the front, 7 April 1943.
Shizuo Akazawa - (Shiranuhi) - Promoted Captain 1 November 1943; KIA as ComDesDiv 10 when division flagship (DD Kazagumo) torpedoed and sunk, 8 June 1944; posthumously promoted RADM.
Kiyoshi Tomura - (Kasumi) - KIA as ComDesDiv 6 when division flagship (DD Inazuma) torpedoed and sunk, 14 May 1944.
Yoshitake Uesugi - (Ushio) - KIA as CO of DD Minegumo, 5 March 1943.

Submarine COs
Shogo Narahara - (I-19) - Promoted Captain 1 May 1943; KIA as ComSubDiv 2 when division flagship, (SS I-5) depth-charged and sunk, 19 July 1944.
Kanji Matsumura - (I-21) - Promoted Captain 1 May 1943; KIA as ComSubDiv 24 when division flagship, (SS I-177) depth-charged and sunk, 3 October 1944; posthumously promoted 2 ranks to VADM, 18 November 1944.
Genichi Shibata - (I-23) - KIA while still CO of I-23, 28 February 1942.
Akiyoshi Fujii - (I-9) - Promoted Captain 13 June 1943; KIA while still CO of I-9, 13 June 1943; posthumously promoted RADM 15 June 1943.
Nobuo Ishikawa - (I-15) - KIA while still CO of I-15, 10 November 1942; posthumously promoted Captain same date.
Eitaro Ankyu - (I-1) - Promoted Captain 1 May 1944; KIA as ComSubDiv 33 when division flagship (SS RO-64) sunk by mine, 12 April 1945.
Hiroshi Inada - (I-2) - KIA as CO of SS I-21, 29 November 1943.
Tetsuhiro Emi - (I-8) - Promoted Captain 1 November 1943; KIA while returning to Japan as passsenger on SS RO-501 when submarine sunk by aerial attack, 31 May 1944; posthumously promoted RADM 26 August 1944.
Katsuji Watanabe - (I-69) - KIA as CO of SS I-40, 21 February 1944; posthumously promoted 2 ranks to Captain same date.
Takao Sano - (I-70) - KIA while still CO of I-70 when submarine sunk by air attack, 10 December 1941.
Akira Isobe - (I-73) - KIA while still CO of I-73 when submarine torpedoed and sunk, 27 January 1942.
Ichiro Togami - (I-72) - Promoted Commander 1 November 1942; KIA as CO of SS I-3, 9 December 1942; posthumously promoted 2 ranks to RADM, 6 January 1943.
Takadane Inoue - (I-75) - KIA as CO of SS I-31, 13 May 1943.
Takashi Yamada - (I-20) - Promoted Captain 1 May 1943; KIA as ComSubDiv 34 when division flagship (SS RO-45) depth-charged and sunk, 12 July 1944; posthumously promoted RADM same date.
Yasuchika Kayabara - (I-10) - Promoted Captain 1 May 1943; KIA as ComSubDiv 22 when division flagship (SS I-180) depth-charged and sunk, 12 July 1944; posthumously promoted RADM same date.

Supply Group Commanders
Kazutaka Niimi - (Supply Group No. 2) - KIA as CO of AO Ogura Maru No. 3, 23 February 1944; posthumously promoted RADM same date.

Auxiliary Vessel COs
Yoshio Kanemasu - (Kenyo Maru) - KIA as CO of AS Rio de Janeiro Maru, 17 February 1944; posthumously promoted RADM same date.
Toraji Hidai - (Kokuyo Maru) - Died from disease contracted at the front, 5 August 1943; posthumously promoted RADM same date.
Kiyoshi Kusagawa - (Toei Maru) - Promoted RADM 15 October 1944; KIA as CO of BB Hyuga, 24 July 1945; posthumously promoted VADM same date.

FWIW,

-Matt

[herakles]

A most comprehensive post Matt!

[Yamatoholic]

Thanks, Heracles!

I've compiled a list of IJN COs that currently numbers 1,935+ officers ranking from Midshipman to Fleet Admiral. I also have a CO List for every ship that has a TROM at combinedfleet.com that is by now over 100 pages (and that's in 10 font!) If anyone is searching for info on a specific IJN officer or ship, let me know and I'll see what I've got.

-Matt

[Don Boyer]

Interesting how all this thread got kicked over into the eternal bickering over whose English is whose. Some points:

The Hawaiian flag honors the English who were here first, before America got hands on it. It also honors the American flag. Does that suggest anything?

Hawaii is the most culturally diverse place in the United States and at least five English variants are common here -The Queen's English, our Australian cousins, and "American" English -- which, as a college English major I have to say is becoming a lost art because of our incredibly poor schooling these days, a travesty that angers me no end. College graduates that can't spell, for Christ's sake! Immigrants that think we should all speak Spanish just because they are here. It's sickening!

On top of that, we have English as a second language, i.e., as spoken by those whose original language was Japanese, Chinese, Korean, etc. This is sort of "English in progress" and is perfectly accepted here.

Then to top it off, we have "pidgin" English -- the English as learned in the old days by those who worked the cane and pineapple fields and that is still a strong element of the culture here. Even "haoles" (white boys) such as myself who grew up in the schools here speak pidgin, because it works to help get along.

The neat thing is we all understand each other, with a bit of translating now and again. We all speak "English." Her Majesty might wonder, but it's still English and it binds us all together. It doesn't separate us, and that's an unfortunate thread I see running through the comments here, gentlemen.

To top it off, I have a proper English lady friend from the Halstead area I have communicated with for years online. She speaks proper "English English" and I speak American English. Surprisingly enough, we understand each other perfectly. Not only that, but I now use terms such as "loo" as if they were my own. Strange that. If it weren't for the 7,000 miles between us, we'd probably be married.

Let's get off whose English is whose, joking or not, and back to whose history is whose.

[spruso]

Could never see the point in putting unecessary letters in a word. If it sounds "harbor" why stick an unused "u" in it? A bit like "colour". What about "through" - Now theres a total waste of letters. Wonder wot Spike Milligan thort about it.

Cheers
Bruce

[CGRET]

Don,

I would have to agree with your comments.

Matt,

Well Done! Nice to see the some detailed information on the Japanese Attacking Force.

Regards
Charles

[BB-39 USS Arizona]

These are a few pix's I have just before Japan started their attack on Pearl Harbor. Most of them are taken 21 Nov. 1941.

The Pix's are named, with the ships involved, but just in case............ :p

1. A view south from Kako with Furutaka aft. Left to Right: Chikuma, Tone, Mogami, Suzuya, and Kumano

2. Battleships Nagato, Kirishima, Ise, and Hyuga

3. From Samedare with Chikuma and Tone on the right Yudachi in the foreground and behind her Harusame

4. Left starting from the front Kongo, Haruna, Kumano, Suzuya, and Mogami On the right, Yamasshiro and Settsu

5. Left to Right: Haruna, Kongo, Mutsu, Nagato, Hiryu, Akagi, Jingei, and Chogei

And I hope everything comes out okay, for a change......

Bob

Edited to add; And I noticed the (jpg) didn't come through for some odd reason on 2 of the pix's. So if you open it, you will need to add jpg as the extension. And I don't know how to fix this. :'(

Bob

[Graham Barnes]

These are nice photos. Of course the majority of these ships had nothing to do with the attacks on Pearl Harbor, right?

Only a very few shown were involved in that operation: cruisers TONE & CHIKUMA, battleships HIEI & KIRISHIMA, carriers AKAGI & HIRYU. That's all, I think.
One photo shows a third fleet carrier, but I could not tell you its identity...

[designeraccd]

The third CV is the AKAGI, very distinctive due to, like Hiryu, island being on "wrong side".........also have seen the pic with IDs, b4!!!

Also a pic of a nice model of her, so you can see her more clearly. DFO ;):D

[Don Boyer]

For the Japanese "big six" carriers at the beginning of the war, there is another distinction between the two carriers with their islands to port. Those ship's (Akagi, Hiryu) had their islands located almost amidships, whereas the other carriers with islands on the regular starboard side were much farther forward. Makes distinguishing easier in those pictures where it's almost impossible to tell which side the island is on.

Regards,

[spruso]

Don,
What was the reason for having the islands on different sides?. I think I remember reading it was something to do with the funnel trunking on the side of the ships.

Cheers
Bruce

[Andy3E]

Don,
What was the reason for having the islands on different sides?. I think I remember reading it was something to do with the funnel trunking on the side of the ships.

Cheers
Bruce

Akagi as bult did not have an island fitted, the island was added after her Reconstruction in the 1930's

from Wiki

The modernization added an island superstructure on the port side of the ship, which was an unusual arrangement; the only other carrier to share this feature was a contemporary, the Hiryū. Akagi and Hiryū were intended to work in a tactical formation with starboard-sided carriers, in order to improve the flight pattern around the formation, (and possibly to improve mutual visibility of signal flags flown from each bridge when operating under radio silence, assuming the carrier with the port side bridge is to the starboard of the other carrier) but the experiment was not continued beyond those two carriers.

and additionally, from hazegray

Why are aircraft carrier islands always on the starboard side? There are several reasons. Initially the island was placed on the starboard side because early (propeller) aircraft turned to the left more easily (an effect of engine torque). Obviously such an aircraft can execute a wave-off to the left more easily, so the island was put to starboard to be out of the way. There may also be other, minor contributing factors.

Once the starboard side position was established and a few carriers were built in that configuration, it became difficult to change. Pilots used to landing with the island to their right would be confused on a ship with the island on the other side. There was nothing to be gained by moving the island, so it stayed in the same place. Once angled decks were introduced this became even more important, since the deck angle would have to be changed to move the island.

There were, however, two carriers with their islands to port. The Japanese Akagi and Hiryu were fitted with port-side islands. Each was meant to work in a tactical formation with a starboard-island ship (Kaga and Soryu respectively); it was thought that putting the islands opposite sides would improve the flight patterns around the carriers. The idea was scrapped after two ships were so fitted, and all later carriers had starboard islands.

[lukee]

I've heard also other story. To mislead the American pilots regarding the heading. But this argument seems to be weak... due to wake:)

[Andy3E]

Does anyone know how long it took for the Japanese to fly off each wave?

[Rob Stuart]

I think there is no option here: the name of the place is "Pearl Harbor". On the other hand, one can refer to New York harbor or to New York harbour, according to taste, as the name of this place is "New York".

Rob

[Don Boyer]

Well, if you live here, you can always use "Momi Wai".....:)

[jainso31]

Andy-Cannot find the exact time length for each launch; but they are about an hour apart-given that they launched simultaneously
Sunday, December 7 - Islands of Hawaii, near Oahu - The Japanese attack force under the command of Admiral Nagumo, consisting of six carriers with 423 planes, is about to attack. At 6 a.m., the first attack wave of 183 Japanese planes takes off from the carriers located 230 miles north of Oahu and heads for the U.S. Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor.

Pearl Harbor - At 7:02 a.m., two Army operators at Oahu's northern shore radar station detect the Japanese air attack approaching and contact a junior officer who disregards their reports, thinking they are American B-17 planes which are expected in from the U.S. west coast.

Near Oahu - At 7:15 a.m., a second attack wave of 167 planes takes off from the Japanese carriers and heads for Pearl Harbor.

jainso31