Chapter 21 Chapter 17 Takeoff Attack!

Masaobu Okumiya, the Aviation Staff Officer of the Second Mobile Force, stood on the deck of the light aircraft carrier Ryujo, staring intently at the daunting arctic sky.Every part of his face, scarred by a plane accident long ago, was anxious.In a few minutes it will be midnight.Normally, the sun will not rise until 2:58 local time on June 3, but due to the long summer days, the takeoff time is 2:33.The sky was still dark at the moment, and the Ryujo was leading the fleet at twenty-two knots, riding the wind and waves almost due north toward Dutch Harbor, the main target of Japan's diversionary attack on the sparsely populated Aleutian Islands. [Note: "The Battle of Midway", page 137 | page 139. 】

On the flight deck, the plane was starting, the motor roared, and the wind howled.Not far away, Captain Yoshio Kato, wearing a thick leather coat, was gathering the commanders of the squadrons to give final instructions.They knew almost nothing about the enemy, and had never fought in such a bleak climate. Okumiya felt someone pat him on the shoulder, and when he looked back, it was Rear Admiral Kakuji Tsunoda, the commander.Kakuda asked him aloud over the din: Will the offense start on time? I'm sorry, Commander, I'm afraid I'll have to wait a little longer, Okumiya replied politely and loudly.He looked at his watch, it was already 2:28, only five minutes before the scheduled take-off time, but the sky was still very dark.Chief of Staff Masatoku Odagiri squinted his eyes to look at the sky, and said that it was still dark because of the dense fog. [Note: "The Battle of Midway Island", page 138. 】

Okumiya smacked his lips impatiently.In his view, the sooner the offense starts, the better.Even without unexpected delays, the pilots had enough trouble.He wasn't even sure they'd be able to spot the target.The maps used by the pilots are terrible.Some parts of Unalaska's coastline are drawn with dotted dots to indicate conjectures that have not been proven.The map of Dutch Harbor was drawn based on charts from more than 30 years ago, and the only photo of American facilities on the island was also taken more than 30 years ago.The map of Mars drawn by Japanese cartographers is probably better than this map of the Aleutian Islands.Even if the weather is good, it is not easy for these pilots to find such a strange island with no clear outline in the scattered archipelago, let alone in the dense fog. [Note: Same as above, page 139. 】

Although the wait seemed endless to Okumiya and the aggressive Tsunoda, ten minutes later other ships of the mobile unit began looming like ghost ships.Finally, the aircraft carrier Falcon Eagle, which was a thousand meters away, could be seen clearly.This is almost the best that the Japanese can hope for in this sea area. Generally speaking, the weather here is always dark and foggy.Therefore, at 2:43, Okumiya shouted to Kakuda: Commander, you can start now.Kakuda gave an order to the signal officer, and the signal officer shouted the order, all squadrons, take off and attack! The planes took off from the flight decks of two aircraft carriers.Eleven torpedo bombers and six Zero fighters took off from the Ryujo, and twelve dive bombers and six Zero fighters took off from the Hayato.These figures are not the entirety of the aircraft on board an aircraft carrier.The flagship Ryujo carried sixteen fighters and twenty-one torpedo bombers, and Hayato carried twenty-four Zero fighters and twenty-one dive bombers.The planes that took off were under the command of Lieutenant Shiga, the captain of the Hayato fighter team.The clouds on this day did not exceed seven hundred feet, and they could not fly in formation well, so they had to fight separately.During take-off, a bomber on the Ryujo crashed into the sea. An escort destroyer acted immediately and quickly rescued all crew members from the icy sea water.In this area, this is a remarkable feat. [Note: "The Battle of Midway Island", one hundred and thirty-ninth | one hundred and forty pages. 】

In this way, the Japanese launched a diversionary attack on the Aleutian Islands.After drawing the audience's attention to the Aleutian Islands, the Japanese magician prepares to conjure a rabbit out of a hat at Midway.As soon as these planes penetrated the mist, several US reconnaissance planes appeared over Kakuda's fleet, flying around curiously.One of them followed the fleet closely, dropped several bombs, missed, and then flew away.On the way to Dutch Harbor, the aircraft taking off from the Falcon Eagle encountered a US seaplane and shot it down.However, due to the delay of their dealing with the aircraft and the heavy fog, the operation was aborted.

At the same time, the fleet that took off from the Ryūjō flew forward through the clouds and fog under the leadership of Lieutenant Masako Yamazaki.Persistence is victory, and finally when they flew over Dutch Harbor, the clouds cleared and the target had a panoramic view. Although the American radars on the ground had detected enemy planes flying in, and the antiaircraft guns of the garrison were ready to fire intensively, within 20 minutes, the Japanese planes still carried out frenzied attacks on the oil depot, the radio station and an army barracks. The indiscriminate bombing killed and wounded about twenty-five army and navy soldiers.The Japanese plane also shot several PBYs parked on the water.The anti-aircraft artillery of the defenders shot down two Japanese bombers and damaged two Japanese aircraft, one of which was a fighter.Considering the small size of the Japanese attack team, only fourteen bombers and three fighters actually entered the sky over Dutch Harbor, the Japanese attack on the island this time was quite large.This provides fodder for advocates of air power, even when the opponent is prepared, it is still possible to get in enough planes to achieve favorable results.

However, the Japanese were not satisfied with this early morning attack.Okumiya pored over a batch of high-quality photos taken during the offense.These invaluable photographs show startlingly that the facilities at Dutch Harbor were much better than Japanese intelligence agencies estimated.There are modern buildings and oil depots on the island, and the road network leading to the facilities is well developed. [Note: "The Battle of Midway Island", page 140; Analysis of the Battle of Midway Island, page 24. 】In the diary written by the Chief of Staff of the Northern Forces Nakazawa Nakazawa Nachi that day, people will find that: No one on the flagship Nachi, the flagship of Vice Admiral Hoshigaya Morikoro, was in high spirits.After briefly summarizing the losses of the Japanese side and the possible losses of the other side, Nakazawa only said a few words: It seems that they carried out an air strike on Dutch Harbor as planned, but due to the bad weather, they failed to deal a big blow to the enemy. [Note: Nakazawa Nakazawa Admiral Diary, June 4, 1942.Hereinafter referred to as Nakazawa Diary. 】

In fact, according to US records, the weather around Dutch Harbor on June 3 was not that bad, but the cloud cover was erratic and the flight conditions were moderate. [Note: Analysis of the Battle of Midway, page 9. ] Even so, the Japanese plane did not hit any important ships in the port.Worst of all, there was no American fleet out there hunting the invaders.So far there has been no indication that the Alaskan diversion has played any role in the main battle at the main link. [Note: The Battle of Midway Island, page 142. 】 But at the time neither Okumiya nor anyone else could appreciate how unfortunate Dutch Harbor's diversion attack had been for Japan. No sooner had the plane completed its mission than something even more tragic and regrettable happened.When the bombers and fighter jets rendezvoused over the eastern tip of Unalaska Island, Koga, a naval flight officer on the Ryujo, found tiny gasoline bubbles appearing behind his Zero fighter jet. Cannot return to aircraft carrier.Then he headed for an island east of Dutch Harbor that was supposed to be an emergency landing site.According to the plan, after the attack, a submarine should stop there to pick up the survivors of the crashed plane. [Note: "Zero Machine! ", page 115.Hereinafter referred to as "Zero Machine". 】

Kobayashi saw that Koga flew safely to a flat ground, but the moment the landing gear touched the ground, the plane suddenly arched, and the nose was turned upside down.In Kobayashi's view, the plane must have been severely damaged, and the pilot was either dead or injured. He could only conclude that it would be futile to try to evacuate the wreckage or the pilot from the frozen ground.After receiving his report, Ryujo sent the patrol submarine to search the area carefully, but found no wreckage. [Note: Ibid., pages 115 and 116. 】 Kobayashi's estimates were mixed.The Type Zero stopped suddenly, and with a sudden jerk, Koga's head hit the dashboard, causing his neck to be severed.But the plane suffered only minor damage.It was still in excellent working condition when it was found by a US search party about five weeks later.

The Americans got lucky and captured an almost intact Zero that was virtually invincible over the Pacific Ocean.They shipped the baby back to the continental United States, repaired it, studied it carefully, and made every possible flight test.It was not long before Americans who were extremely interested in it fully grasped its advantages and disadvantages. [Note: Same as above, page 116. 】This very good aircraft also has weaknesses.The Japanese sacrificed protective armor and other safety measures in order to achieve high maneuverability, long range, and other offensive features.In this way, it is extremely easy to catch fire in the air, and it does not even have a self-sealing fuel tank.It cannot withstand damage in combat, not even damage that P-40 and F4F aircraft can easily deal with.

Armed with these facts, American aircraft designers rushed to design a fighter that would eventually outperform the legendary Zero.After hard work, Grumman finally manufactured the F6F Hellcat fighter, which is almost superior to the Zero in various performances.Later, when recalling this past event, Okumiya believed that the loss of the Koga fighter allowed the Americans to quickly conquer the Zero, which was one of the decisive factors in the final defeat. [Note: "Zero Machine! ", 116 | 117; Porter John Dean, "Yamamoto's Threat to America", 241 | 242.Hereinafter referred to as "Yamamoto". 】 Of course, at that time the Americans had neither the time nor the heart to care about the wreckage of a Japanese plane that crashed on an unnamed island in the Aleutian Islands.We already know that at the time, Nimitz, who had concluded that the Japanese feint on Alaska was merely a diversionary operation, assigned the intelligent, energetic, but volatile Rear Admiral Robert A. Theobald. : Theobald was an aide to Admiral Kimmel before the Roberts Commission that investigated the Pearl Harbor disaster was formed. ] Served as the commander of a small task force formed on May 21, responsible for the direction of the North Pacific Ocean, just in case the Japanese made a real move there.Born in San Francisco in 1884, Theobald was no stranger to fog, having graduated ninth from the Annapolis Naval Academy in 1907.Like other young and promising officers in his military career, he served various positions at sea and ashore until he was the commander of the destroyer fleet of the Pacific Fleet. [Note: "The Battle of the Coral Sea, the Battle of Midway Island, and Submarine Operations", note on page 166. 】 After Theobald's fleet is formed, it will be designated as the Eighth Task Force. The main force will have two cruisers, three light cruisers, and four destroyers.At the time, however, the ships were still scattered throughout the Pacific, and in fact did not assemble until a few hours after the Japanese attack on Dutch Harbor. In addition, Theobald had an air force consisting of a number of supply ship-based and land-based aircraft. A search force and a surface search force consisting of converted fishing and miscellaneous craft drawn from Capt. Ralph C. Parker's Alaska Navy, usually on patrol and escort duty.Task Force Eight also had a destroyer strike force of nine ships, a submarine force of six submarines, and three tankers. [Note: "The Battle of the Coral Sea, the Battle of Midway Island, and Submarine Operations", 173rd｜page 174] And since Theobald was acting on the orders of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and had responsibility for the entire theater, he could expect support from Brig. Gen. William O. Butler's Army Aviation strike force.Theobald's task force was indeed a mishmash, with ships at Anchorage, Calder Bay, Kodiak, and Umnak.Arriving in Kodiak on May 27, Theobald found Parker and the Army's Alaska Defense Commander, Brig. Gen. Simon Bolivar Buckner's troops, on alert for two weeks and busy withdrawing from the area. Civilian ships and non-military personnel were dispatched, and military ships, aircraft and personnel were busy receiving them.Theobald and his colleagues had four days to deploy and develop a battle plan. [Note: Same as above, page 166. 】 The defenders in Alaska knew far less about the enemy than the two task forces that were sailing to Midway.Nimitz has an appropriate estimate of the composition of the Kakuda fleet, and believes that there may be one or two amphibious forces.But he did not get definite information until May 28.He told Theobald that intelligence believed that one Japanese attacking force would attack Attu and the other would attack Kiska. However, Theobald is a man of his own opinion, not blindly following, never completely believing what others say without judgment. [Note: Ibid., pages 167 and 170. 】Why did the smart Japanese attack Attu or Kiska?Only a handful of Aleuts lived on these remote islands, where squalls whistled around the rafters, and volcanic ash covered the frozen ground underfoot, making it impossible for heavy mechanized equipment to move.Why is such a place so attractive to the Japanese?The terrain at the outer tip of the Aleutian Islands is like layers of straw mats on top of glue. True, there were a few hard-headed strategists who played up the Aleutian Islands as a necessary route for a Japanese invasion of the continental United States.On a map, the Aleutian Islands between Alaska and Kamchatka look like a beautiful machete, and indeed a formidable weapon.But no map will reveal the unimaginable difficulties of topography and climate of these two small islands.According to the technical conditions at that time, it is obvious that the above idea is absurd. Closer to the mainland United States, there was something worth grabbing for the Japanese, that is, Dutch Harbor and the 5,000-foot-long airstrip on Umnak Island, which was close to it to support it.Yes, the runway was of poor quality, a narrow trampoline where fighter jets bounced thirty feet up when they touched the ground, and bombers sank horribly when they landed.But its existence has established a monument to the superb technology and perseverance of the Army Corps of Engineers.Whatever the Japanese were trying to do was either harass the Confederate maritime transports during the war with Russia, or attack the western coasts of the United States and Canada, or make trouble for others from Umnak, Unalaska, and The Alaska peninsula is much better off than from the two outer islets. [Note: "The Battle of the Coral Sea, the Battle of Midway, and Submarine Operations", page 164; Analysis of the Battle of Midway, page 44. 】Even if the entire Japanese army's northern campaign was a feint attack, they would not stop doing it if they could gain some benefits for the empire at the same time. Moreover, the Japanese were very cunning, and it was not impossible for the feint to be a feint. That is to say, Theobald believed that the enemy was trying to lure him far away near the islands of Attu and Kiska, while at the same time going around to other islands. Occupy Dutch Harbor behind. [Note: Analysis of the Battle of Midway Island, page 44. 】If he sailed out of the protection range of shore-based Army aircraft, he would be hit by Kakuda's carrier-based aircraft, and he didn't have enough naval guns to engage in old-fashioned artillery battles with enemy aircraft carriers.In fact, excluding the factor of the aircraft carrier, the two northern forces of Japan and the United States are comparable in strength: two heavy cruisers are against three, the Japanese side has one more, thirteen destroyers are against twelve ships, the American side has one more, and the light cruisers on both sides There are three of each.In addition, both sides have some sporadic ships, and the Japanese side has three troop carriers that are not useful in naval battles. [Note: "The Battle of the Coral Sea, the Battle of Midway Island, and Submarine Operations", 172 | 174 pages. 】 Theobald considered the above-mentioned factors comprehensively, and finally made a decision: stand still in Kodiak and not fall into the bait of the Japanese. [Note: Same as above, page 170. 】Even if the Japanese really moved to Attu Island and Kiska Island, the United States would only lose a small piece of territory and take a slight blow to its self-esteem.Both islands are worthless, both strategically and tactically. Theobald's logic is irrefutable, and his reasoning is correct, except for one thing: all this is not true.The irascible general thought the Japanese were too smart.First, the Japanese really believed that the Americans would attack Japan via the Aleutian Islands. [Note: Analysis of the Battle of Midway Island, page 36. ] They even believed that the plan might be in the preparatory stage, so they sent submarines to conduct reconnaissance at various ports on the possible attack route.Yi|September scouted the Western Islands on May 25th and 26th, Yi|17th May 28th|29th went to Dutch Harbor for reconnaissance, but did not find the airstrip on Umnak Island , I｜25 scouted Kodiak Island, and I｜26 even sailed to the coast of Washington State, and sent a reconnaissance plane to Seattle for reconnaissance, and finally reported that there was no large number of ships gathering. [Note: "The Battle of the Coral Sea, the Battle of Midway Island, and Submarine Operations", 168 | 170 pages. 】 Second, the Japanese almost absurdly overestimated the strength of American forces in the Aleutian Islands.They estimated a whole Army division in Dutch Harbor and two or three hundred marines on Kiska.In fact, there were only ten weathermen on Kiska Island, not even a gun.As for the outermost island of Attu, there were only twenty-four adult Aleuts, thirteen children, and an American couple on it, but the Japanese estimated that there was an army composed of radio stations, weather stations, and defenders on the island. , unknown number. [Note: "The Battle of the Coral Sea, the Battle of Midway Island, and Submarine Operations", page 168. 】 Therefore, in the eyes of the Japanese, apart from attacking Attu Island and Kiska Island to cooperate with the Midway Island operation, there is also a legitimate reason, which is to block the possible invasion route of the US military. Unaware that his estimate of the enemy's situation was inaccurate, Theobald and General Butler agreed to send half of the aircraft to Calder Bay and Cape Otter to protect the incomplete installations there.Twenty-one P-40s and fourteen bombers were then flown to Calder Bay, and twelve P-40s to Cape Otter.These planes are equipped with radar and are not afraid of dense fog, but the pilots do not understand the terrain, the local climate, and the technology of flying over water. From May 28th, from the above-mentioned marginal area and the three aircraft supply ships, aircraft were dispatched to conduct fan searches in the 700 nautical miles and 400 nautical miles of Kodiak Island.On June 1, Theobald left Kodiak Island on the light cruiser USS Nashville and headed south to join the main force about 400 nautical miles away from the island.In this way, Theobald, who has clear logical thinking and calm reasoning, puts his cruiser fleet in a place where there is no battle. If he wants to command, he must break the radio silence or rush back to Kodiak island.Theobald had planned to join the main force at 7:00 on June 3rd.While he was still en route, Kakuda's air force, which was not part of the attacking force, attacked Dutch Harbor. [Note: Same as above, one hundred and seventy-one | one hundred and seventy-two pages. 】On the way back to the aircraft carrier, a plane on the mountain reported to Kakuda that five enemy destroyers were parked in Macushin Bay on the north shore of Umlaska Island.Full of joy, Tsunoda immediately ordered all aircraft, even the seaplanes on the cruisers Maya and Takao, to take off and attack the destroyers.However, the unpredictable weather was not good, and heavy fog fell. The 24 planes failed to find the US destroyer, so they had to divide into small groups and return close to the sea.After the last plane landed, Tsunoda ordered the fleet to advance to waters 100 nautical miles away from the enemy shore. [Note: "The Battle of Midway Island", page 141; Analysis of the Battle of Midway Island, page 24. 】 On that day, two seaplanes were accidentally shot down while on a reconnaissance mission.The four Type 95 seaplanes of Kaohsiung and Maya encountered two U.S. Army P|40 fighter jets over Umnak Island.Little did the Japanese know that there was a Fort Glenn airstrip at Cape Otter on the island.Two US land-based fighter jets suddenly appeared, as if popping out of a genie's bottle.When the Japanese machine saw this, it was frightened and overwhelmed.During the melee, the P|40 fighter jets driven by Lieutenants John B. Murphy and Jacob W. Dixon respectively shot down two Japanese planes and severely damaged the other two.What is amazing is that the two damaged Japanese planes were close together and returned, until they suddenly separated when they landed on the water near the warship, and both fell into the sea.The ship's rescuers acted quickly and rescued the crew. [Note: Analysis of the Battle of Midway, pages fifteen and twenty-four; "The Forgotten War in the Aleutian Islands", by Col. Sri Lanka Air Force Colonel, p. 77. 】 At noon, the day's battle for the Aleutian Islands had come to an end, and Kakuda began to retreat to the southwest.That night, the destroyer refueled, and then the fleet sailed to Adak Island to prepare for the attack as originally planned. [Note: "The Battle of the Coral Sea, the Battle of Midway Island, and Submarine Operations", page 176 | 177. 】 News of the Japanese attack quickly reached the United States, prompting various reactions.Secretary of War Stimson received word from Bremerton that the Japanese had attacked Dutch Harbor and immediately made arrangements for all telegrams concerning the attack to be sent to his home.Then, he took his assistants out for a ride.Stimson had been exercising consistently, and news of the Japanese attack on the Aleutians was not enough to break his routine.After riding back, he saw a report, which said: The Japanese army launched an attack again.It appears that their first attack cost us some casualties, but very little.There are reports that an enemy aircraft carrier is nearby.We are looking. [Note: Stimson's diary, June 3, 1942. 】 An editorial in the "Honolulu Star" reflected the mental state of people at the time who were both nervous and fearful and wanted to be brave.The editorial said: News of the Japanese attack on Dutch Harbor caught the attention of the Hawaiians, but they were not alarmed. The attack on Dutch Harbor may have been an isolated incident, or it may have been part of a series of attacks across the Pacific coast and in Hawaii. [Note: June 4, 1942. 】 During this period, President Roosevelt was almost single-mindedly thinking about how to keep the Soviet Union fighting.As early as March 11, he told Treasury Secretary Henry Morgenthau: I would rather lose New Zealand, Australia and other places than the Russians collapse.Therefore, at this time, he was still analyzing the actions of the Japanese army in the North Pacific according to his established views.He pointed out that this attack on the Aleutian Islands, I don't think it was aimed at the United States or Alaska, but an integral part of their plan to attack Siberia.He also said: Once we had defeated the Germans, however, we could defeat the Japanese in six weeks with the help of the British fleet. [Note: Morgenthau's diary, June 16, 1942] If Morgan's quotes are correct, Roosevelt's estimate is astonishing, even for Roosevelt himself, who never liked to hide in the shadow of pessimism.