There is a book that I am currently reading, about gaining insights and a new way of thinking. Among its numerous examples, it gives that of the British attack on the naval base at Taranto, a coastal city in southern Italy on the night of the 11th of November, 1940. France had already surrendered on the 25th of June, 1940. The US had not yet entered the war yet, hence only Britain was fighting Germany, Italy and Japan. This attack was seen as revolutionary, a change in the current general thinking and a different approach to warfare. This is the first time an attack from an aircraft carrier by planes on other ships. The first all-aircraft ship-to-ship naval attack in history, employing 24 obsolete Fairey Swordfish biplane torpedo bombers from a new aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious in the Mediterranean Sea. The plan for this attack had been on the books since 1935 when Italy invaded Abyssinia (Ethiopia). It was thought that ships are safe in a harbour which was less than 50 meters deep, as any torpedo from an aeroplane had to drop at least 30 meters (98 feet) in the water for it to be effective. But the British had found a way to make sure that the torpedo did a belly flop instead of a nose dive, hence it will appear to shimmed off the surface of the water. They attached wires to the nose and added wooden fins to the tail to make sure they stabilized near the surface of the water and did not sink too deep. The attack was at night and it destroyed half the Italian Mediterranean fleet in one single blow.
Immediately after hearing the of the attack Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto saw the potential and importance of the British attack on the Italians. In retrospect, they should have all known that arranging all your ships in one place anywhere is too big a temptation for your enemy in times of war and protecting them by having anti-submarine nets at the mouth of the harbour is not enough. He immediately began to think about the America Pacific fleet anchored at Pearl Harbor. Yamamoto was against Japans expansionist policy and was against the war in the Pacific in general. He knew that once he had drawn up plans for the attack they will lose a long drawn out war, hence the attack had to be so severe that it will knock out any potential of the US fighting.
The Japanese had an aggressive foreign policy and did defeat the mighty Russian Empire in 1905 against its expansionist policy. The Japanese Empire had a surprise attack of the Russian fleet at Port Arthur, China after negotiations had broken down.
The attack at Pearl Harbor itself had its challenges as it was during the day and not at night as the British at Taranto had done. Also, the Japanese lacked the precise bombing equipment the British had. There was the issue of the vast distant about 6,400 Km (4,000 miles) to be covered to and also fro.
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| Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto |
Another person who had immediately grasped the importance of the attack at Taranto was Admiral Harold Stark Chief of naval operations, he then wrote a memo warning of a potential of an attack at Pearl Harbor to the Secretary of the Navy, Franklin Knox. Advising to put torpedo nets in the Harbor itself. But this fell on dead ears, as there was a general belief that since the water was so shallow, and the distance so great the Japanese will not risk such an attack despite there being hostilities between the two countries. Insight doesn't count for much if we cannot transfer them into action. Stark's bosses deflected and ignored his warnings and after the Pearl Harbor attack, he was quietly transferred to the Atlantic arena of operations.
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| Admiral Harold Stark |
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