|
The organization of the Japanese attack has been well documented, and details are available from multiple online sources.
Identified by it’s tail number (AI-154) and red fuselage stripe, the Kam Zero was part of the 1st Fighter Combat Unit,
originating from the carrier Akagi. The Kam Zero was assigned to the First Wave, Third Group / 2nd Division consisting
of 9 Zeros under the command of Lieutenant Commander Shigeru Itaya. Their mission was to strafe both Hickam Field and
Ewa Marine Corps Air Station. Papers recovered from the pilot’s body after the crash identified him as Naval Air Pilot
First Class Takeshi Hirano.
| Zero (AI-108) taking off from the carrier Akagi |
|
| This is probably the Zero of LCDR Shigeru Itaya, the 3rd Group 2nd Division commander |
Multiple Google searches uncovered a wealth of official and personal recollections of the attack. Several of these
references made specific mention of the site and effects of the Kam Zero crash.
Four men of Fort Kamehameha's Ordnance Detachment were killed when a downed Japanese plane crashed into the ordnance
machine shop. The plane had swooped down to strafe the flight line, it's propeller was damaged when it struck the concrete
runway, and the airplane was unable to regain altitude. The fort's ordnance machine shop was located in line with the
damaged plane. All told, seven men were killed and at least twelve wounded at Fort Kamehameha during the attack.
[from Fort Kamehameha: The Story of the Harbor Defenses of Pearl Harbor, by William Henry Dorrance]
There were no definitive reasons given for the crash, but it is unlikely that the Kam Zero was brought down by
gunfire. During the attack, some Ft. Kam soldiers set up machine guns in the barracks quadrangles to shoot at the attackers.
According to some accounts, these soldiers first had to shoot the locks of the weapon supply rooms off, because no one could
locate the proper keys. One man interviewed for a book said that the gun mounts were not sandbagged, and as result
the machine guns were dancing about with recoil, making accurate fire impossible.
Another of the Zeros brought down during the attack was able to fly to the island of Niihau, where it crash-landed.
Read about this incident at
Wikipedia: The Niihau Incident
|
