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Adm. Husband E. Kimmel Photograph courtesy U.S. Naval Historical Center
1. Was the U.S. prepared for the attack on Pearl Harbor?
2. Why was the Japanese attack so successful? 3. Had there ever been an attack like Pearl Harbor? 4. Were there any warning signs? 5. Hadn’t the U.S. cracked the Japanese code? 6. Didn’t Washington send warnings to the commanders at Pearl Harbor? 7. How did the U.S. fight back at Pearl Harbor? 8. What happened in the months after Pearl Harbor? 9. What was the importance of Pearl Harbor in mobilizing the U.S. for war? 10. What effect did the attack have on the war in Europe? |
1. WAS THE U.S. PREPARED FOR THE ATTACK ON PEARL HARBOR?
 No. Although it was obvious that war was coming to the Pacific, the war in Europe and the ongoing Battle of the Atlantic against German submarines and warships had convinced the U.S. Navy of the need to send many ships and aircraft from the Pacific to the Atlantic to help protect U.S. interests and, indirectly, to help the British. In the Pacific many of the available aircraft were being sent westward, to bases in the Philippines, where the Japanese attack was expected to come first. Also, Wake Island and the Midway Islands were being reinforced to secure them as refueling stops for planes being flown to the Philippines. Although warning radar, fighter aircraft, and antiaircraft guns were available at Pearl Harbor, the commanders, Adm. Huband E. Kimmel and Lt. Gen. Walter C. Short, had not established a viable air defense system. |
© 2001 National Geographic Society. All rights reserved.