Carrie launched aircraft were both risky and untested when the war began. They started out being feared by some and taken for granted by many. But turned out being the single most important tool to prevent the total defeat of the United States Pacific Fleet. Carrier launched aircraft were important parts of many battles, They were the main weapon in Pearl Harbor, the Battle of the Coral Sea, and the battle of Midway. They were instrumental in Americas war efforts.The early advances by the Japanese were both swift and precise. They targeted the one thing they needed most, the raw materials to run their country (Rice 14). But the first real move made by the Japanese war machine was the all out air attack on the America heave fleet stationed at Pearl Harbor. The Japanese, who felt America to be the only great threat to their expansion into the Pacific(Stein 6). By destroying the U.S. naval presence in the Pacific they could march unopposed and complete their plans for total Pacific conquest. But this all depended on the destruction of their real targets the U.S carriers Lexington, Yorktown, and Saratoga. But these ships were out doing strategic maneuvers that day(Stein 24). Their loss would have severely impacted the U.S. Navy’s ability to strike back at Japan, possibly adding years to the war’s duration (Rice 15). The attack was completely unexpected. On December 7th 1941 the 353 Japanese aircraft were seen coming by radar, but were ignored due to the inexperience of the operators. Vice admiral Chuichi Nagumo’s First Air Fleet were on their way to attack the Americans main Naval force. The casualties were immense. 2,403 Americans were killed, and 1,178 wounded. 18 U.S. ships were sank or badly damaged, and out of 394 aircraft 188 were destroyed and 159 were damaged(Stein 25). The Japanese losses were minute compared to the U.S., they only lost 29 airplanes 6 midget sub’s and 1 Actual Sub(Stein 27...
