January: Adm. Yamamoto begins communicating with other Japanese officers about a possible attack on Pearl Harbor.
Jan. 27: Joseph C. Grew, the U.S. ambassador to Japan, wires Washington that he has learned that Japan is planning a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. No one in Washington believes the information. Most senior American military experts believe the Japanese would attack Manila in the Philippine Islands if war broke out.
February: Adm. Husband E. Kimmel assumes command of the U.S. Pacific Fleet in Hawaii. Kimmel and Lt. Gen.Walter C. Short, commanding general of the Hawaiian Department, prepare for the defense of the islands. They ask their seniors in Washington for additional men and equipment to insure a proper defense of military instillations.
April: U.S. intelligence officers continue to monitor Japanese secret messages. In a program code-named Magic, U.S. intelligence uses a machine to decode Japan’s diplomatic dispatches. Washington does not communicate all the available information to all commands, including Short and Kimmel in Hawaii.
May: Japanese Adm. Nomura informs his superiors that he has learned Americans were reading his message traffic. No one in Tokyo believes the code could have been broken. The code is not changed.
Interesting information, Joe. Didn’t know that Amb. Grew had prior information. It’s ironic that Washington didn’t believe him, and Tokyo didn’t believe Nomura. I suppose there’s a poli sci lesson in there somewhere.
I’ve only read Walter Lord’s Day of Infamy. Have you read At Dawn We Slept? If so, is it good? I’ve heard mixed things about it, but it is said to be “definitive.”
I ordered the last USS New Orleans that FreeTime Hobbies had in stock, along with a PE from WEM. It is somewhat. . .daunting.
i have read that multiple reports surfaced of a possible japanese attack through early and mid 1941. amb grew it is said had heard it from a diplomat from peru who had heard a japanese envoy speaking of it. here we are 70+ years later and hindsight is 20/20 for stuff like this.
“day of infamy” is a very good and informative book. as with all written accounts there are things that are disputed but overall a very good account. not a light read but i have read through it twice.
The Hasegawa -3 definitely has -4 wings. I’ll probably buy an Admiral one for this GB, and give that a run. I haven’t tried one of their kits before. I could convert the wings on their -4, or I may have some resin -3 wings somewhere in the stash, but why do it the hard way ?
here is the plan. this thread will be a general get info and gather interest thread until july 1 then I will pull together who and what as far as entries. so far it appears six are interested.
I’d be interested as well, even though I haven’t finished my build from the first two. I’d probably do the new Airfix Dogfight Duo, a P-40 v. Zero in 1/72.
