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| -Obits- |
| Don't Worry About It |
| 2010-02-27 |
| Hawaii-based pilot Kermit Tyler thought the big blip on the radar screen on Dec. 7, 1941, was a fleet of U.S. B-17 bombers due in from the mainland, so he replied "don't worry about it" when told of the approaching mass that turned out to be the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Tyler, who was ultimately cleared of wrongdoing, has died at age 96, content he did all he could that morning. He was the Army Air Forces' first lieutenant on temporary duty at Ft. Shafter's radar information center in Hawaii when two privates reporting seeing an unusually sizable blip on their radar screen, indicating a large number of aircraft about 132 miles away and fast approaching. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose |
| #1 A joint Army-Navy report dated 13 March 1941 stated: Possible Enemy Action paragraph: (a) A declaration of war might be preceeded by: 1. A surprise submarine attack on ships in the operating area. 2. A surprise attack on Oahu including ships and installations in Pearl Harbor. 3. A combination of these two. (b) It appears that the most likely and dangerous form of attack on Oahu would be an air attack. It is believed that at present such an attack would most likely be launched from one or more carriers which would probably approach inside of three hundred mile. * * * * * (e) In a dawn air attack there is a high probability that it could be delivered as a complete surprise in spite of any patrols we might be using and that it might find us in a condition of readiness under which pursuit would be slow to start. To prevent the Japanese surprise attack that they described, Martin and Bellinger, cognizant of the shortage of long-range reconnaissance aircraft, described the action open to them: “Run daily patrols as far as possible to seaward through 360 degrees to reduce the probabilities of surface or air surprise. This would be desirable but can only be effectively maintained with present personnel and material for a very short period and as a practicable measure cannot, therefore, be undertaken unless other intelligence indicates that a surface raid is probable within rather narrow time limits.” |
| Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 2010-02-27 17:31 |