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THE NAVY FROM 1920 TO 1950 - 14325_145
European Arena - 14325_147

Basic Military Requirements (BMR) Revised Edition
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Those carriers played an important role in the prewar years. They were used in exercises to test the possibility of launching air attacks from their decks. During fleet maneuvers, naval aviators received excellent training in mock attacks on Pearl Harbor. Flying predawn missions from carriers, flyers theoretically destroyed the U.S. Fleet and its aircraft there. Fleet commanders were impressed by the flexibility of the air arm, but no one else seemed to pay much attention to the exercises. Destroyers Between the two world wars, the United States built the Navy’s destroyer fleet to 184 ships. Destroyers also became prime factors in America’s policy to turn over older  destroyers  (fig.  5-9)  to  Britain  after  the  British entered the war against Germany. When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, a destroyer, USS Ward (DD 139), was among the first American forces to fire against the enemy,   sinking   a   Japanese   midget   submarine. Destroyers  went  on  to  distinguish  themselves  in fighting  enemy  submarines  both  in  the  Atlantic  and Pacific theaters. WORLD WAR II On the morning of December 7, 1941, the “Rising Sun” came out of the west when the Japanese pounced on Pearl Harbor. On that morning, over 15 U.S. Navy ships were sunk or damaged, including all 8 battleships of the Pacific Fleet (fig. 5-10). Some 3,400 Navy and Marine Corps personnel were killed or wounded. The United States declared war on Japan the next day. Pacific Arena The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor was the first attack in history conducted solely from aircraft carriers. The  attack  proved  beyond  a  doubt  that  aircraft  had become   an   essential   part   of   naval   armament. Fortunately, no United States carriers were lost during the  attack  on  Pearl  Harbor.  The  USS  Yorktown,  USS Wasp,  and  USS  Ranger  were  in  the  Atlantic,  and  the USS Saratoga was in San Diego. The USS Lexington was  about  425  miles  south  of  Midway,  and  the  USS Enterprise was 200 miles west of the Pearl Harbor. The Japanese Imperial Navy captured island after island  in  the  South  Pacific  as  it  advanced  toward Australia. The U.S. Navy’s air arm finally stopped that advance in early May 1942, which set the scene for the turning point of the war in the Pacific. At the Battle of Coral Sea, the two fleets never saw each other—the battle was fought entirely with aircraft launched from carriers. The USS Lexington and USS Yorktown, jointly under the command of Admiral F. J. Fletcher, launched 93 attack planes against the Japanese carriers  Shoho, Shokaku,  and  Zuikaku.  Within 5 minutes, the Shoho was hit with 10 heavy bombs and 15 torpedoes. The USS Lexington’s radio crackled with the  voice  of  Lieutenant  Commander  Dixon  of  the  air group,  “Scratch  one  flattop.  Dixon  to  carrier,  scratch one  flattop!”  The  other  two  enemy  carriers  were  so badly damaged that their services to the Japanese fleet were lost for weeks. The United States suffered the loss of  an  oiler,  an  escort,  and  the  USS  Lexington.  Even though  American  losses  were  heavy  in  tonnage  and men, Australia had been saved from invasion. 5-16 Student Notes: Figure 5-9.—Destroyer built shortly after World War I. Figure 5-10.—The day of infamy.







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