Why was the U.S. fleet caught so off-guard on December 7th, when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor?

Answer 1

Lack of Communication. Plain and simple

Answer 2

I read that they suspected that the Japanese would feel forced to confront the US navy after we had threaten the supply of vital materials from SE Asia. They decided that the ships were safer in Pearl Harbor than out to sea in the event of a surprise strike because the ships could be raised from the shallow harbor as opposed to lost to the sea depths. Could be just a sea story.

Answer 3

There was no precedent for an attack at such long range. The Japanese themselves were surprised they managed to carry it off.

The Japanese cabinet had already decided to declare war on the US, the Pearl Harbor raid was just an expression of that policy.
The notion that Japan went to war with the US because Pearl Harbor happened to be vulnerable is laughable.

Answer 4

ok at the beginning, the Flying Tigers used the Curtis Warhawk P-40. the 1st strive against-waiting 38s (the P-38E rolled off the assembly line in October, 1941. so as that they've been in no way in use in the process the air conflicts with Japan previous to the U. S. being attacked at Pearl. additionally, the united statesWard attacked and sank a jap miget sub a million hour previous to the air assault on Pearl which became on 7 DEC 1941, no longer 6 DEC which became a saturday. Gte the info at the instant buddy. ultimately, we dropped the A-Bombs on 6 and 9 August 1945. no longer 1946. in simple terms so which you already know. Now concerning this question, the jap had continuously felt that the individuals recognized them as inferior, that their machines weren't as much as "velocity" with the individuals. That their techniques weren't on an identical point simply by fact the individuals. while they bombed Pearl, it became one in all elation and one in all organic excitement. no longer excitement interior the experience of delight yet excitement interior the experience that they had added a blow that they felt might positioned them on an excellent point with the individuals and with a bit of luck cause them to (the individuals) sue for peace and/or raise the oil embargo against the dwelling house Islands. It additionally debunked the parable that the "yellow guy" became no longer almost as good simply by fact the american and ought to in actuality play ball with the terrific of them. (properly for a year or 2 besides.) while the american B-24's hit Japan in April of '40 two, it became no longer something greater advantageous than a morale booster for the individuals. besides the actuality that no important injury became achieved, the mere actuality that the individuals had in actuality hit the dwelling house Islands became one in all those dishonour to the jap. It became then that they found out that they've been in it for the long haul and it became a conflict that they won't win, besides the actuality that the wish became to postpone it long adequate so as that the american human beings might tell their leaders to sue for peace.

Answer 5

They ignored the warnings. Really there were reports of a submarine and planes closing in on Pearl Harbor but the Navy ignored them refusing to believe we could be attacked on our own soil. This has led to the rumor that President Roosevelt knew about the attack but chose to allow it to convince the rest of the country to go to war.

Answer 6

nobody expected that.. the Japanese had just been in Washington trying to make peace or come to terms and most of the people were on shore leave and their was little or no warning..it just wasn't expected.However there was a US sub that spotted the planes coming in and reported it and the person taking the message thought it was our planes on maneuvers and just blew it off..so well it happens.. but was a great military move on the Japanese part but it was stupidity when we told them to cease or we would release a bomb of the magnitude that the earth has never seen..Then although we bombed with the first they thought we just got lucky and we bombed with the second and they finally believed us..now that was real stupid but even more stupid is this US paying for destruction to their country and still giving compensation to this day to the people that were survivors and also their mutated children..Whoever heard of destroying a country and then paying them back.. it take all kinds .Im not one to know about government but that just doesn't make good business sense to me..

Answer 7

The pervading belief at the time was that the Japanese navy did not have the firepower to attempt so large a strike, as will as a belief that the Philippines were a more obvious target.

Answer 8

This is a very in-depth question that has many in-depth answers, however, I am going to attempt to remain succinct by suggesting that we weren't caught off-guard at all but actually allowed the tragedy to occur in an effort to bolster support of U.S. engagement into WW2 first by our invasion of France in the European theater and than later our entrance into the South Pacific leading to the dropping of two atomic weapons, leveling Nagasaki and Hiroshima.

Answer 9

Having read all the answers I get the feeling that most of the people misssed the point that Amercians were complacent and never thought that anyone would ever attack American territory.

Answer 10

On November 26, the Japanese attack fleet of 33 warships and auxiliary craft, including 6 aircraft carriers, sailed from northern Japan for the Hawaiian Islands. It followed a route that took it far to the north of the normal shipping lanes. By early morning, December 7, 1941, the ships had reached their launch position, 230 miles north of Oahu. At 6 a.m., the first wave of fighters, bombers, and torpedo planes took off. The night before, some 10 miles outside the entrance to Pearl Harbor, five midget submarines carrying two crewmen and two torpedoes each were launched from larger "mother" subs. Their mission: enter Pearl Harbor before the air strike, remain submerged until the attack got underway, then cause as much damage as possible.

Meanwhile at Pearl Harbor, the 130 vessels of the U.S. Pacific Fleet lay calm and serene. Seven of the fleet's nine battleships were tied up along "Battleship Row" on the southeast shore of Ford Island. Naval aircraft were lined up at Ford Island and Kaneohe Bay Naval Air Stations, and Marine aircraft at Ewa Marine Corps Air Station. At Hickam, Wheeler, and Bellows airfields, aircraft of the U.S. Army Air Corps were parked in groups as defense against possible saboteurs.

At 6:40 a.m., the crew of the destroyer USS Ward spotted the conning tower of one of the midget subs headed for the entrance to Pearl Harbor. The Ward sank the sub with depth charges and gunfire, then radioed the information to headquarters. Before 7 a.m. the radar station at Opana Point picked up a signal indicating a large flight of planes approaching from the north. These were thought to be either aircraft flying in from the carrier Enterprise or an anticipated flight of B-17s from the mainland, so no action was taken.

The first wave of Japanese aircraft arrived over their target areas shortly before 7:55 a.m. Their leader, Commander Mitsuo Fuchida, sent the coded messages "To, To, To" and "Tora, Tora, Tora," telling the fleet that the attack had begun and that surprise had been achieved.

At approximately 8:10, the USS Arizona exploded, hit by a 1,760-pound armor-piercing shell that slammed through her deck and ignited her forward ammunition magazine. In less than nine minutes, she sank with 1,177 of her crew. The USS Oklahoma, hit by several torpedoes, rolled over, trapping more than 400 men inside. The USS California and USS West Virginia sank at their moorings, while the USS Utah, converted to a training ship, capsized with more than 50 of her crew. The USS Maryland, USS Pennsylvania, and USS Tennessee all suffered significant damage. The USS Nevada attempted to run out to sea but took several hits and had to be run aground to avoid sinking and blocking the harbor entrance.

While the attack on Pearl Harbor intensified, other military installations on Oahu were hit. Hickam, Wheeler, and Bellows airfields, Ewa Marine Corps Air Station, Kaneohe Bay Naval Air Station, and Schofield Barracks suffered varying degrees of damage, with hundreds of planes destroyed on the ground and hundreds of men killed or wounded.

After about five minutes, American anti-aircraft fire began to register hits, although many of the shells that had been improperly fused fell on Honolulu, where residents assumed them to be Japanese bombs. After a lull, at 8:40 a.m. the second wave of attacking planes focused on continuing the destruction inside the harbor, destroying the USS Shaw, Sotoyomo, a dry dock, and heavily damaging the Nevada, forcing her aground. The Japanese also attacked Hickam and Kaneohe airfields, causing heavy loss of life and reducing American ability to retaliate.

Army Air Corps pilots managed to take off in a few fighters and may have shot down 12 enemy planes. At 10 a.m. the second wave of attacking planes withdrew to the north, and the assault was over. The Japanese lost 29 planes and five midget submarines, one of which was captured when it ran aground off Bellows Field.

The attack was a great, but not total, success. Although the U.S. Pacific Fleet was shattered, its aircraft carriers (not in port at the time of the attack) were still afloat and Pearl Harbor was surprisingly intact. The shipyards, fuel storage areas, and submarine base suffered no more than slight damage. More importantly, the American people, previously divided over the issue of U.S. involvement in World War II, rallied together with a total commitment to victory over Japan and her Axis partners.