What Cdr. Fuchida was thinking

 Cdr. Mitsuo Fuchida, who led the air strikes on Pearl Harbor, commanded an elite force.

Six carriers launched 183 planes, which formed up in 15 minutes. That was something American air groups simply could not do in 1941.

Fuchida, one of the great air commanders of the war, was not a pilot. Although he was the plane’s commander, his bomber was piloted by a first-class petty officer. Fuchida, rode in the middle seat, behind the pilot and ahead of the radio operator, who also operated the tail gun. Fuchida navigated.

Fuchida corrected his route 5 degrees by listening to the Honolulu radio station. He was flying through heavy clouds and was relieved when the American announcer said the forecast called for partly cloudy skies.

The clouds broke as the formation approached the north shore of Oahu. Fuchida took the planes west to avoid being seen.

Tactically, Fuchida had one big decision: If his air groups surprised the Americans, the torpedo planes would attack first, followed by level bombers and then dive bombers. The fear was that the smoke would be too dense to see after the dive bombers struck. If the enemy was alert, however, the dive bombers would attack first to cause confusion. They’d be followed by the level bombers and then the torpedo planes.

Radio silence was strict. Fuchida would signal the formation with a flare pistol: One Black Dragon if surprise was achieved, two if it was lost.

Fuchida fired one flare, but the fighters, flying through clouds, missed the signal. Fuchida fired a second flare toward them when they emerged.

The ensuing confusion — was that one flare or two? — was the only glitch.

It didn’t matter. Fuchida was astonished that the only planes in the air were Japanese. They were five minutes early over their targets. The first bombs fell at 7:55 a.m.

It’s interesting to read the accounts of combat leaders to find out what they were thinking at pivotal points in history. Fuchida was thinking about many things, including the unfortunate problem with those flares.

• Source: Ian W. Toll, Pacific Crucible; New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2012. This is Vol. 1 of the Pacific War Trilogy.