Captain Mitsuo Fuchida:

Pearl Harbour from their eyes

T. V. Perera

World War II broke out on September 3, 1939 with Hitler’s invasion of Poland, a country protected by agreements with Britain and France. In the Eastern Front urged by the Germans, Japan entered the war on July 27, 1941 occupying bases in Indo-China and landing 40,000 troops the following day.

President Roosevelt, determined to curb Japanese policies imposed escalating sanctions on the Japanese, which antagonized and alienated them. Yet the Japanese did achieve total surprise on December 7, 1941, when their naval aircraft roared out of the sky over Pearl harbour to hammer the US Pacific Fleet.

The reason for this was undoubtedly American complacency the notion that Japan was still a minor, undeveloped country, incapable of mounting attacks so far from home. Consequently, the initial American reaction was one of disbelief. It soon changed to anger.

Captain Mitsuo Fuchida was commander of the Pearl Harbour assault force, comprising 363 aircrafts, and in direct command of the Akagi carriers air corps. Flying a Nakajima B5N ‘Kate’ bomber, this is his own story to the carnage included damaging the USS Maryland.

“We should be nearing our objective. I strained hard to make out the shape of the islands through gaps in the clouds ahead. They were breaking up now – you could catch an occasional glimpse of the sea through these gaps in the cloud cover, then everything closed up again. Suddenly, just below my plane, a long continuous white line appeared: the northern coastline of Ohau Island. I changed course at once to starboard, guiding the entire force towards the west course. The sky over Pearl Harbour was clear.

”Soon, across the broadening plain in the centre of the island, Pearl Harbour at last! Came in sight. As we looked down, the morning mist hung over a strip of land. It looked a peaceful scene, with wispy trails from the cooking of breakfast lying across it.

I took up my binoculars, and gazed down. I could see eight battle-ships.

(Nevada, Arizona, Tennessee, West Virginia, Maryland, Oklahoma, California, Pennsylvania.)

But however hard I looked, I could see nothing of the aircraft carriers. ‘They’re not there’, I muttered, disappointed. We knew already, from intelligence received the day before, that the carrier force had left port, but still had the lingering hope that they would be back – we hoped and prayed for that stroke of luck. At any rate the battleships were there, we were glad. I glanced at my watch. Just 3.19 a.m. (Tokyo time). I turned round to my wireless operator in the seat behind, and gave the order: ‘Make To!’ He had been waiting for that moment and began tapping out to all formations: ‘To...To...To...’ This repeated signal was the abbreviated message ‘TORA! TORA! TORA!’ (TIGER! TIGER! TIGER! - ALL UNITS ATTACK).

The first bomb dropped was on wheeler airfield from a dive-bomber at 3.25 a.m. Leading the 25 dive-bombers in the attack on wheeler field was Lieutenant Sakamoto.

Fighters could be seen getting ready for take-off from wheeler field, all drawn up in orderly fashion on the aprons of the hangers.

To be continued