26 November, 2021

26 November, 1941

A rare double “On This Day” post for me. But I’m going to be hitting Pearl Harbor pretty hard over the next two weeks, and this is where it kind of officially begins.

The Kidō Butai  sets sail for Pearl Harbor, it’s exact destination still under sealed orders.

The Kidō Butai (機動部隊, "Mobile Unit/Force") was the Combined Fleet's tactical designation for its combined carrier battle groups.[15] The title was used as a term of convenience; it was not a formal name for the organization. It consisted of Japan's six largest carriers, carrying the 1st Air Fleet.

File:PearlHarborCarrierChart.jpg

Thus began the first phase of the planned attack on Pearl Harbor.

On November 26, 1941, a Japanese task force (the Striking Force) of six aircraft carriers—Akagi, Kaga, Sōryū, Hiryū, Shōkaku, and Zuikaku—departed Hittokapu Bay on Kasatka (now Iterup) Island in the Kuril Islands, en route to a position northwest of Hawaii, intending to launch its 408 aircraft to attack Pearl Harbor: 360 for the two attack waves and 48 on defensive combat air patrol (CAP), including nine fighters from the first wave.

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