This mission was flown by 10 pilots on Japanese side (A6M2-21 fighter).
The same mission was played on the American side 2 months earlier - See the corresponding debriefing here :
https://www.sas1946.com/main/index.php/topic,32571.0.htmlThe logbook from which is extracted the following passage was found in Kyoto at the end of the war.
It was written by a young pilot at that time, Watanabe ANATOLI, who became flight instructor until the end of the conflict, after he had been seriously injured during the Marianas campaign …
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December 7, 1941, A6M2-21 fighters from carrier AKAGI had to escort Kate bombers toward Pearl Harbor. The strike was staged in two levels :
- Val bombers : 3 500m flying with their escort 1 000m above;
- Kate bombers : 1 000m (they were the planes we had to escort).
We were organized in 4 sections :
TANTO 1 – 2 – 3 (Fox, Anatoli, Stan)
TANTO 4 – 5 – 6 (Chaps, Wolf, Nash)
SAKE 1 – 2 (Etops, Carl)
SAKE 3 – 4 (Catsy, Narvi).
The passage of this logbook tells what happened during this mission…
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0515 - I could not sleep that night ... I could not help thinking about what we have to do this morning ... Yesterday, I watched all these ships and aircraft carriers around us ... Nothing can stop such a force.
An Emperor speech was broadcasted last week ; the message was clear : our country is on the way of glory !
I believe it.
I take place in my cockpit. It is still dark. I feel tight in my narrow cockpit.
I can see my Flight Leader near me ; cpt. Sato FOX is the leader of TANTO sections. He seems to check whether his intruments work properly. I was told he previously fought in China… I am glad he chose me as his wingman !
Ayato STAN (Tanto 3) make a sign in my direction : everything will be ok ! I just nod…
Fighters from other sections are lined up behind us. I can see Lt. Akira CHAPS (Tanto 4), and his 2 wingmen Lt. Kagiro WOLF (Tanto 5) and Lt. Tomyio NASH (Tanto 6).
Still behind them, I guess the 2 SAKE sections are ready to take off : Cpt. Yoshiro ETOPS (Sake 1), Tetsuo CARL (Sake 2); near them are Lt. Asegawa CATSY’s plane (Sake 3) and his wingman, Lt. Ishimuri NARVI (Sake 4).
I feel like a rookie compared to my comrades…
I check wether my instruments work properly : everything seems to be ok. I just check the belly tank indicator : ok.
I hear (more than I see in the dark) all the VAL and KATE bombers which rushed from the other 5 carriers of the Imperial fleet… The noise is so loud !
I initiate my starting procedure ; propeller and engine start.
A siren indicates it is time to take off… My leader rushed from the carrier… I follow him 3 seconds later. I am sticked to my seat because of the sudden speed. I feel worried a bit, as I am not an experienced pilot. And then my plane takes off…
Gears and flaps up, mixture and propeller set. Trim adjusted… I then join my leader and fly on his left side. Tanto 3 joins us within a few seconds.
We join the KATE bombers within a few minutes ; they fly toward Pearl Harbor on a heading of 155° at a 1 000m altitude.
We position our 4 sections around the KATE bombers, at a 1 200m altitude.
Sun starts to rise… I can see its rays through the morning mist. It makes me think to our flag… I make a sign to Tanto 3, on my right side, and I smile : I guess he had the same idea !
Our 4 sections are now flying sticked together. The flight toward our objectives takes place without any incident.
As I looked to my 5 o’clock, I can see Tanto 4 who makes signs with his arms : I just open my eyes and have an incredible viewing ! We all look at the huge VAL bombers who flight 2 000m above us… It is astonishing !
I feel confident because of this viewing : Empire of Rising Sun will be glorious today… Nothing will be able to stop us !
Banzaï !
Sun is rising higher in the sky… After more than half an hour, we reach the north coast of Oahu island ; we can see the peaks of Hawaiian mountains through the mist…
I hear TANTO leader on my radio who asks us to stay focused. He also orders to drop our belly tanks.
As we reach the coast, I notice a small airbase in our 2 o’clock. I notice that 2 planes take off. At the same time, SAKE leader announces 2 new planes taking off from another airstrip, 5 km in front of us. It seems there are 4 enemy planes in the air, now… Probably P-40…
TANTO and SAKE leaders react quickly : the 2 SAKE sections start to aggressively rush toward the enemy planes… At the same time, the 4 P-40 attacks the KATE bombers.
A KATE bomber is in trouble… I can see bad smoke coming from its engine… I am afraid he won’t make it !
A low altitude dogfight runs now… But our fighters are much better than the American ones ! The 4 enemy fighters are wiped out from the air within a few minutes… I can see some A6M2-21 from the VAL escort rushing toward the 2 airstrips in order to make strafing…
I am looking for my leader, and after a minute, I stick my plane to him. We are still heading toward Pearl Harbor, in the south side of the island. No enemy planes are in the air. KATE bombers announce they prepare for the attack…
I am thinking to my family in Kyoto… They will be proud of me… I will write them when I am back : they must know about this historical day !
I can see the harbor, now… it is full of ships… No American planes are visible above… That means we succeeded in attacking them by surprise !
Cpt. Sato FOX announces « Tora ! Tora ! Tora ! » at the radio…
I will never forget this moment…
But SAKE leader announces that enemy fighters are taking off from Ford Island, in our 1one o’clock…
At the same times, KATE bombers initiate their attack on Pearl Harbor… Torpedoes go to their objectives while bombs fall on the fighters, lined on airfields as for a parade ! Explosions occurs everywhere on ground ! I can see hundreds of fighters and various planes burning…
We are on the way to victory !
Meantime, VAL bombers dive on the ships... US battleships are under a heavy attack, and I can see many bombs hitting their target !
Chaos is everywhere on ground…
A battleship is already sinking, and some few others fight against fires on board…
I am surprised not to see many AAA shells and burst… It seems the American navy and Air Force have been really caught by surprise !
TANTO leader orders to rush toward the enemy fighters which previously took off from Ford Island. SAKE leader indicates that he counted eight P-40…
As VAL and KATE bombers gather in order to go back to the Imperial Fleet, a violent struggle takes place in the air… We rush to the enemy fighters not to let them reach our bombers…
Situation is stressful, as the sky is full of machinegun shells, various burst… I feel I don’t know what to do… A P-40 dives at 200m on my right… I avoid its burst !
TANTO leader shouts on radio ! He tells me to do my job ! I follow him, as he flies in the six o’clock of a P-40. I can see his machineguns firing at the fighter ; this one then spits a black smoke, and fell down 3 km further…
Another P-40 tries to place itself above our fighters in order to get a tactical advantage…
TANTO 1 tells me to deal with this P-40, as he is now out of ammo… I am in position to shoot, but the enemy fighter is not a rookie ! After 2 minutes of a tight dogfight, I fire a long burst, and finish with the 20mm canons.
The P-40 exploses in a huge fireball !
I cannot believe it !
“Well done” … This is TANTO leader’s voice in my radio… I am so proud at that time… But the combats around me makes me come back to the reality !
The 3 other sections are involved in a huge dogfight…
After 15 minutes of intense fighting, we take the advantage over the American planes, and no more enemy fighters are present in the air.
Sake 3 fought with a B-17 bomber which tried to land on Hickam. I don’t exactly know what happened, but I think those bombers were in trouble !
TANTO and SAKE leaders give us the order to go for a strafing against planes on Hickam and Ford, before going back to the carriers…
We all dive towards the planes on ground, and I can see bursts and explosions on ground… Some planes just explode in front of me ! I can see American soldiers running, in an attempt to find a safety place !
Radio is being overcrowded… I understand that Lt. CARL and WOLF have been shot down during a strafing on Ford Island…
As AA firepower increases, TANTO leader ask everybody to go back to the carriers. We are ordered to fly to the northern mountains of Oahu, in order to gather at a 2 000m altitude.
I follow the orders…
After a few minutes, I can see other planes from our sections heading to the rendezvous’ point. Eight A6M2-21 over the ten at mission starting) are present.
At the same time, Tanto 4 (Lt. Akira CHAPS) announces he sees buildings at the top of a mountain, in our 10 o’clock. He ask his wingman (Lt. Tomyio NASH) to dive for a strafing… We all see an explosion, as his bullets reach the target. Is it one of those radars we were told about during our briefing?
Once gathered, we are heading north to our carriers… They are moving to a 090° from our initial take off. TANTO leader calculates navigation.
We have been flying for 30 minutes at a 150kt speed, then turn left to a 270° : it should bring us straight to the fleet…
But after 8 minutes flying this way, TANTO leader announces we made a mistake : we should have flown at 260kt to fit with his calculation… And we did it at a 250kt speed !
Visibility is so bad in this morning mist...
Ayato STAN makes a new calculation… After 30 seconds, he announces his results to TANTO leader, who obtained the same correction…
Then we turn right to a 360° at a 260kt during 2 minutes, and turn right again to a 090° during 10 minutes…
Silence on radio… Pilots are worried about this situation ; but we remind quiet…
After the 10 minutes flight, TANTO leader announces “carriers at 10 o’clock!”
We then saw the KATE and VAL bombers landing on the 6 carriers. We wait 15 minutes until we are ordered to enter the landing circuit.
I can see my comrades landing safely…
Then this is my turn… Everything goes right, and I land on the Akagi.
We get down from our planes, shouting Banzaï ! So does crewmen … What a glorious day : victory belongs to us !
Now, it is time to celebrate it and to drink in memory of our 2 comrades who fell above Pearl Harbor…
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Enjoy !!
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Topic: Japanese debriefing - Mission over Pearl Harbor (Read 2488 times)
