On this day 62 years ago...

[Dis]

the weapons system though, are very nice.

Once you see those cruise launchers in action. I'm amazed they can load and shoot cruise missiles so fast. Amazing stuff. And combat information center is very high tech.

But the navy has always focussed more on reliablility over high tech in many other areas such as general shipboard life and damage control. We still use sound powered phones. These phones as the name implies- are powered by your voice. These of course are the most reliable. Unless the lines are cut the phones will work regardless of power. Though DC central uses amplifiers and such. But you still have phone talkers on the sound powered phones. So you can still operate without the amplifier boxes and MC boxes. Handheld radios (as the cops use) are being used more and more though. I think they add boosters or antennas to improve transmission through the steel bulkheads.

[Ned]

My wife is from Brazil, so that may be some excuse; but she knew nothing about Pearl Harbor and little about WWII when we went to see the movie with Affleck. She had to ask me who was whom, even.
After the movie, she said she understood why America got mad and went to war.

I wonder how many younger Americans are viewing movies like Pearl Harbor having no basic understanding what the movies were about? Quite a few, I bet.

[The Mad Monk]

Yes, it's sad, people are losing their sense of history.

[KrazyHorse]

After the movie, she said she understood why America got mad and went to war.

Indeed, but why are they shooting at Iraqis instead of the directors?

[DAVOUT]

I understand how important Pearl Harbor was for the US, but it was not a battle. The crucial moment, IMHO (and in many others ) was Midway, decisive, uncertain, lucky. Midway was everything a battle can be. Won, it made possible the reconquest, lost, it would have made the war significantly different.

Not really on topic, sorry.

[Az]

Why the hell wasn't Pearl Harbour a battle? It was a well executed attack by the Japanese, that was very successful, although not perfect. The fact that it had a very decisive result in term of "winners-losers" doesn't prevent it from being a battle.

[TheStinger]

Pearl habour was not a success for the Japanese, they didn't get the carriers

[DAVOUT]

Originally posted by Azazel
Why the hell wasn't Pearl Harbour a battle? It was a well executed attack by the Japanese, that was very successful, although not perfect. The fact that it had a very decisive result in term of "winners-losers" doesn't prevent it from being a battle.

I meant that the Japanese were almost unopposed.

[Dis]

I like to think WW2 was won by the U.S. on Dec 7, 1941. As soon as we entered the war, Japan had no chance.

Yes even had they gotten the carriers, I don't think Japan had any shot of winning the war. But that could have delayed the war for close to a year though. And casualties would be much higher. But the result would be the same. Japanese loss. They had no hope of ever competing with our industrial capacity. They would have had to destroy the shipyards on the west coast to have any shot at winning the war. And even then we still have major shipyards on the east and gulf coast (in fact- they built most of the ships of the war-Newport News shipyard, and Ingalls shipyards built all the liberty boats used in d-day). And even the one's on the west coast would have been rebuilt.