AboutJohn Expertise Retired US Navy, stationed 10 years in Hawaii. Study of the early years of the Pacific War 1941-42, including the attack on Pearl Harbor. Easy access to actual sites in and around Pearl Harbor. More limited knowledge of general WWII history in the Pacific.
Experience I'm well-read in general WWII history, and spent a lot of off time exploring various military sites on O'ahu.
Education/Credentials I hold a B.A degree from Chaminade University of Honolulu in Historical and Political Studies, Summa cum Laude, earned in 2002.
Question can you describe where the American carriers were when the Japanese attacked and why they sorted out of pearl harbor? has this information ever been released by the us navy? my understanding was that the Japanese had people phoning around the local Japanese population for info and if not that other means were used to keep tabs on ships in harbor. or was it that the Japanese only did one intelligence recon months before and that was that? its very strange other than fate that the carriers were gone days before for training or supporting actions off midway unless someone just decided to put them to sea because of the very large problem of imminent war with japan.
Answer They just happened to be gone. There were only 3, if I recall correctly. One was ferrying aircraft to Wake Island, and I think the other two were just out on maneuvers. They often left the battleships in port as they could not keep up with the carriers when conducting flight ops.
Of course, that's just the 10-cent answer. Complete books have been written on the how and why of Pearl Harbor.
