Útok na Pearl Harbor - Americké letadlové lodě a bitva o atol Wake 1. část – Šnajdr Miroslav (2025)

For the United States, the war against Japan begins with a genuine shock, born at Pearl Harbor. The Pacific Gibraltar becomes the target on Sunday morning, 7 December 1941, of a brilliantly planned and exceptionally professional strike by Japanese carrier-based aircraft launched from six carriers forming part of Vice Admiral Nagumo’s Kidō Butai, or Mobile Force. The carriers Akagi, Kaga, Sōryū, Hiryū, Shokaku and Zuikaku, together with the achievements of the Imperial Japanese airmen, enter history forever. On 7 December, the United States begins its war with an aggressive and culturally very different Asian power. For many years, the myth of an unprovoked attack on American territory, moreover carried out under the cover of peace negotiations, dominates perceptions of the events, reflected in the name given to 7 December: the Day of Infamy. An extraordinary number of books and articles examine the attack on Pearl Harbor, an event of crucial importance not only to the course of the Second World War, from every possible angle. Many also discuss the operations of the victorious Japanese carrier air force. By contrast, the operations of American aircraft carriers, especially the USS Enterprise, which was sailing relatively close to Hawaii on that fateful morning, are often overlooked. Yet the reactions of American admirals, officers and enlisted men who were in the Pacific on 7 December, aboard ships outside port or in the cockpits of carrier aircraft, are exceptionally interesting. Shock, surprise, anger, the courage to make decisive choices and the ability to carry out extremely demanding tasks stand alongside hesitation, confusion, a certain incompetence and serious errors which, only through a fortunate combination of circumstances, do not cause further disasters or add to the already intolerably long list of American losses. During these hours, the slogan that accompanies the fighting in the Pacific until Japan’s final defeat is born: “Remember Pearl Harbor.” The aircraft carriers of the US Pacific Fleet continue their operations in the days immediately following 7 December, returning to Pearl Harbor only for the essential time needed to replenish fuel and supplies. Enterprise, Lexington and Saratoga cruise the Pacific while their aircraft search in vain for the enemy. These are largely chaotic and poorly conducted operations with little effect on the enemy. After the withdrawal of Vice Admiral Nagumo’s Kidō Butai, the only Japanese warships remaining around the Hawaiian Islands are submarines. The sinking of one of them, I-70, by Dauntless aircraft from USS Enterprise becomes the first real success of US Navy carrier aviation in the Pacific War. It is an extraordinary…