Captain Mitsuo Fuchida:

Pearl Harbour from their eyes -Part I

Continued from last week

Sakamoto’s planes spotted them, went into a die and attacked in sequence, taking care no to screen the objectives of later aircraft by the flames and smoke from their bombs. A few minutes after the onset of the attack, Sakamoto had completely eliminated the possibility of any counter-attack by the most effective US fighter force in one clean sweep.

At the same time, 26 dive bombers split into two at wheeler field and headed for Ford and Hickman (airfields). Soon the smoke from their bombing rose up from both. Ford and Hickan were close to where the battleships rode at anchor in Pearl Harbour, and we were afraid that smoke from this bombing attack might interfere with the torpedoing of the battleships by obscuring them.

So, Lieutenant Commander Mutata (leading the torpedo bombers) speeded up his attack. He launched at 3.37am Against the West Virginia. The torpedo smacked into the ship and a white column of water rose high into the air. Then there were two – then three – then four. I watched these actions, keeping on course for my own high-level bombers. Our objective was the group of battleships which were situated on the east side of the Ford Island. I sent the pathfinder in first, moving my command aircraft into second position.

We came into the bombing run – in the face of intense ack-ack fire. Some proximity shells burst just below us... no damage. But No. 3’s bombing release was cut, so he would have problems. In a five aircraft formation, we (now) had four bombs.

The pathfinder dropped his bomb. I tugged promptly at my release, and watched the bomb’s trajectory through the lower window. Four bomb nosed earthward. On the water, ahead, two battleships loomed up, one alongside the other. I looked at them, held my breath – they’ve been hit, haven’t they? The bombs grew smaller and smaller and vanished from sight. From the portside battleship, two plums of smoke rose up. Without thinking, ‘Two bombs on target’, I yelled.

A deck-piercing bomb had a delay in mechanism of half a second so that it should explode after it had broken through the deck armour, and penetrate into the ship. So the moment of impact was nothing special.

Then two big plumes of water rose up to the air beside the battleship. The battleship Maryland had been squarely hit.

After finishing their job the bombers flew back to their carrier. I had to assemble the fighters for the next phase of the battle, so I stayed behind over the harbour. I observed the overall situation and calculated the results of the attack. The place was an inferno.”