Fleet of Books

Chapter 12 - First Attack on Oahu

If the friendly formation could be guided up to the airspace over Pearl Harbor, all that remained was to quickly drop the bombs, burdened as he was with the heavy responsibility of being the overall commander of the squadron. That's what Commander Fuchida had been thinking, but there was a unit that transitioned to the attack maneuver even before him. In the blink of an eye, the torpedo squadron led by Lieutenant Commander Shigeharu Murata deployed at low altitude and began the assault.

'Receiving the honor of the first spear is the pinnacle of honor, but still, the opponent...'

Having identified the target and transitioned to an extremely low-altitude flight, Murata chuckled to himself. Before the attack on Pearl Harbor, the repeated torpedo training at dangerously low altitudes was meant solely to sink torpedoes into battleships and aircraft carriers. However, the target assigned to them was just an ordinary oil tanker. Moreover, Murata learned from Vice Admiral Nagumo that this was not an order from the 1st Air Fleet headquarters but a direct order from Admiral Yamamoto, the commander-in-chief of the Combined Fleet. Although it was an order from Admiral Yamamoto, who was an authority beyond the clouds, Murata's true feelings were that if possible, he wanted to launch torpedoes into battleships or aircraft carriers.

Behind Murata's aircraft, there was the second aircraft piloted by Flight Petty Officer First Class Kawamura. Originally, if the target was an immobile oil tanker, Murata's plane alone would have been sufficient. However, the 1st Air Fleet headquarters, exercising extreme caution, ordered Murata to attack the oil tanker with two aircraft. He soon realized that the judgment of the higher-ups was correct. To the right of the targeted oil tanker were several battleships, and just to the left, there were battleships that seemed to be of the Pennsylvania-class or Tennessee-class. In other words, this was an extraordinary opportunity for the oil tanker, loaded with fuel, to set battleships on fire.

'It's crazy to anchor a mass of flammable materials like an oil tanker among a group of battleships.'

Although he harbored a small sense of disdain for the sloppy or careless appearance of the Pacific Fleet, Murata quickly pushed that thought to the back of his mind. Explosions reached his ears. His quick subordinates had started dropping torpedoes and bombs towards the battleships. There was no time to dawdle. The target would go up in smoke if the torpedoes were not quickly thrown.

Murata lowered the altitude to the point where the fuselage and wings almost touched the sea surface. To successfully carry out a torpedo attack in the shallow waters of Pearl Harbor, it was crucial not to let the torpedoes sink too deep when released. For this reason, the aerial torpedoes used had modifications to the gyro and stabilizing wings, achieving further stability in their airborne posture. The crew also raised the horizontal tail of the Type 1 to suppress the torpedo's sinking, and by lowering the release altitude to the extreme, they made it possible to launch torpedoes in the shallow waters of Pearl Harbor, where the depth was only one or two meters.

'Easier said than done.'

In the extreme conditions where any piloting mistake was unforgivable, Murata maintained a constant altitude and course with an extraordinary level of concentration beyond the reach of ordinary people. When the distance to the target was less than 800 meters, he released the torpedo. Leaving the aircraft to rise as it attempted to float after detaching the nearly one-ton heavy object.

"How's the second plane?"

With the roaring engines accompanying the increase in output, Murata shouted as he inquired.

"It's following us!" Telegraphist Flight Petty Officer First Class Hirayama also raised his voice as much as possible.

Furthermore, Murata's ears were filled with Hirayama's joy-filled shout.

"Water columns on the targeted oil tanker! Another one!"

Satisfied with the report from Hirayama, Murata, however, perceived that a red light had entered his field of vision.

"The oil tanker has exploded! It's a massive explosion! Amazing flames and smoke!"

Leaving the surrounding vigilance to his scout, Flight Petty Officer Hoshino, Murata also looked down below. There, the once discernible form of the oil tanker, now engulfed in flames and smoke, had become indiscernible.

'The tremendous intensity of that explosion is abnormal. Perhaps the oil tanker was carrying not only heavy oil but also gasoline.'

In any case, there was no way for the oil tanker to survive. With no defensive capabilities, if a torpedo, especially one with enhanced explosives, continuously hit the vulnerable side of the oil tanker, remaining afloat would be nearly impossible. What was once an oil tanker was now a blazing torch illuminating the bay, burning fiercely. The flames gradually spread over the sea surface, approaching the battleships anchored on both sides.

'At the very least, the two on the right and the one on the left will suffer considerable damage. In some cases, scrapping the ships might be unavoidable.'

Metal becomes brittle when exposed to high heat for a long time. If it surpasses a certain level, it means the ship is rendered unusable, essentially a scrapped ship. Battleships are no exception.

'But even more fragile than battleships are human beings.'

Currently, Pearl Harbor is being dominated by flames and smoke. The smoke contained large amounts of deadly toxins for humans, such as carbon monoxide and poisonous gases. Most people would have succumbed to the smoke, a lethal wound, before being burned by heat or flames.

'Attacking the oil tanker is a tactically sound move, but it doesn't leave a good taste in the mouth.'

Murata, like many Imperial Navy officers, primarily honed their skills to destroy enemy war machines such as ships and aircraft. Those who sharpen their skills to kill others are more of a minority. Of course, destroying enemy war machines also leads to casualties among the soldiers operating them. That was an undeniable fact, and Murata fully understood it. However, he never specifically aimed to shoot or kill people, and if, hypothetically, an enemy soldier were drowning at sea, he would surely lend a helping hand. Until the war started, that's how Murata had thought.

However, he couldn't shake off the suspicion that the Imperial Navy's high command was more focused on reducing enemy soldiers than on war machines. Caught in such doubt, Murata couldn't dispel it. Setting the oil tanker on fire would make firefighting and rescue efforts significantly difficult. In other words, it would mean a significant increase in the deaths of American soldiers. While burning battleships using the oil from the oil tanker might be efficient, Murata couldn't shake the suspicion that it wasn't an honorable act in terms of Bushido, and even more so, in terms of humanity.

Perhaps Admiral Yamamoto was taught this strategy by a devil. As if demanding the harvest of the lives of many American soldiers. Such thoughts involuntarily welled up in Murata's mind.

'Nonsense. There's no way there are devils in this world.'

Discarding the distractions, Murata pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind and returned his consciousness to reality. Then, he ordered Hirayama to send a message.

"We have successfully torpedoed the enemy oil tanker, and the effect is significant."