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Did the Japanese rely on the torpedo bombers to destroy the American fleet?
Wiki User
∙ 12y ago
Yes. Although bombs can destroy & sink warships; the best tools for the job are, torpedoes for sinking ships, and bombs for wrecking the topside AAA positions.
A typical (good) tactic: Dive bombers go in first (to avoid collisions with the torpedo planes) and hit the topside defenses (AAA sites). The Torpedo planes go in, timed just as the dive bombers are leaving, and launch the ship sinking under-water missiles.
WWII Torpedo holes averaged about 35 feet in diameter. Plenty of room for ocean water to come crashing through.
Wiki User
∙ 12y ago
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What were the names of the planes that the Japanese use to bomb pearl harbor?
Kate torpedo planes, Val dive bombers, and Zero fighters. For fighting at sea; dive bombers destroy the warships anti-aircraft guns which enables the torpedo planes to make their torpedo runs into the hull of the target. Torpedo planes have to fly directly into the warships guns. For anti-aircraft gun crews, the oncoming torpedo plane is flying directly into them, the gun-crews don't have to adjust or aim...just point at a dot (the plane) that is getting bigger and bigger (easier and easier to hit) as it gets closer. Which is why the dive bomber is so important; it must eliminate those guns. The Zero fighters escort the torpedo & dive bombers to and from the target. The fighters protect the bombers; and if not needed for aerial combat (dog-fighting), the fighters will join in on the attack...strafing targets with machinegun and cannon fire.
What did the Japanese travel in to bomb pearl harbor?
The Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor in bomber planes, fighter planes, submarines, and torpedo bombers. They also planned to use midget submarines but most didn't make it.
What type of Japanese aircraft did Japanese planes take off from during the bombing of pearl harbor?
Nakajima B5N and Aichi D3A Mitsubishi A6M Zero is a fighter plane. It was used for air control and straffing, not bombing.
What were the specific contributions of the attack at Pearl Harbor?
Mini-Subs launched from mother ships; dive bombers, torpedo bombers, and fighters.
The total number of Japanese casualties at pearl harbor?
29 airplanes and 5 mini-subs: 29 airmen and 10 sub crewmen. If the planes were torpedo/dive bombers they had 3 airmen per plane.
Where the planes came to destroy Pearl Harbor?
they came from Japan, a surprise attack on the US, this marked when the USA entered ww2. The Japanese thought that the USA will interfere with their plans. The planes that attacked Pearl harbour came from Japanese Aircraft carriers At 06:05 on December 7, six Japanese air craft carriers launched an attack with 183 aircraft comprising of dive bombers, horizontal bombers and fighters. destroying and damaging American ships and military installations. this was followed by a second wave of 170 Japanese planes, mostly torpedo bombers which attacked the fleet anchored in Pearl Harbor.
What was pearl harbor attacked with?
Japanese aircraft bombing at high & low level & torpedo bombers. An attack by midget submarines was thwarted.
What were the names of the planes that the Japanese use to bomb pearl harbor?
Kate torpedo planes, Val dive bombers, and Zero fighters. For fighting at sea; dive bombers destroy the warships anti-aircraft guns which enables the torpedo planes to make their torpedo runs into the hull of the target. Torpedo planes have to fly directly into the warships guns. For anti-aircraft gun crews, the oncoming torpedo plane is flying directly into them, the gun-crews don't have to adjust or aim...just point at a dot (the plane) that is getting bigger and bigger (easier and easier to hit) as it gets closer. Which is why the dive bomber is so important; it must eliminate those guns. The Zero fighters escort the torpedo & dive bombers to and from the target. The fighters protect the bombers; and if not needed for aerial combat (dog-fighting), the fighters will join in on the attack...strafing targets with machinegun and cannon fire.
How did the Curtiss Helldivers help change the course of World War 2 in the Battle of Midway?
The earlier attack by American torpedo bombers had drawn the Japanese air cover down near the surface of the water, which left them completely out of position to repel an attack by the Helldiver dive bombers.
What equipment did the Americans use for the Battle of Midway?
USN: Vindicator & Dauntless dive bombers; Devastator & Avenger torpedo bombers; wildcat fighters. IJN: Val dive bombers; Kate torpedo bombers; and Zero fighters.
What other aircrafts were used in the Battle of Midway?
USN: Vindicator & Dauntless Dive Bombers; Devastator & Avenger Torpedo Bombers; Wildcat fighters. IJN: Val Dive Bombers; Kate Torpedo Bombers; Zero fighters.
How did the US destroy the Japanese in the Battle of Midway?
Three of the four Japanese aircraft carriers sunk at Midway were lost in a matter of minutes, in a single attack by American dive bombers. Ordinarily dive bombers could not cause very serious damage to capital naval ships, because they carried only a single, 500 lb. bomb. These bombs were generally not heavy enough to cripple a ship, even though they would do damage if they hit. The really destructive bombers were the torpedo bombers, which carried a single torpedo slung beneath the aircraft, just like the ones fired from submarines or destroyers. But the US torpedo bombers were slow and unmaneuverable. The plan was for the dive bombers and torpedo bombers to attack at the same time. The torpedo bombers flew in low, just over the water to drop their torpedoes. The torpedo bombers took off first, because they were so much slower. They still reached the Japanese fleet first and began their attack. Every single one was shot down, without scoring any hits at all. There was a single survivor, who floated in his life jacket and saw what happened next (and was rescued days later by a flying boat, truly a very lucky man). The one thing the torpedo bomber attack did accomplish was to draw all the Japanese Combat Air Patrol fighter planes from overhead the Japanese fleet down to the deck to chase the torpedo bombers. So when the dive bombers arrived overhead in the next few minutes there were no Japanese fighters at high altitude to intercept them.The Japanese carriers were at their most vulnerable. Their airplanes had attacked Midway Island earlier and were being rearmed and refueled. At first they were being rearmed with bombs to drop on Midway, then when that was about done reports of sightings of the American fleet came in, and a hurried rearming with anti-ship weapons, torpedoes, was ordered. There were bombs, torpedoes and fuel lines all over the decks of the Japanese ships, and they were full of highly inflammable gas fumes from the high-octane aviation gas. (The USS Yorktown was lost when caught in a similar condition at another time). The bombers nosed over and dived, dropping their bombs into the midst of this highly inflammable and explosive target, and three carriers were soon racked with secondary explosions coming one after another and wreathed in flames. The only reason the fourth escaped was it was temporarily hidden beneath the clouds of a rain squall that kept it from being spotted.In those few minutes the entire tide of the Pacific War shifted to running for the Americans, and the war was as good as lost to the Japanese, though they required three more years of convincing.
Who saw the Battle of Midway from the ocean?
US Navy Ensign George H. Gay, Jr. was a torpedo bomber pilot in the attack force sent against the Japanese fleet. The torpedo bombers had to come in low over the water, "low and slow", to drop their torpedoes into the water. The torpedo bomber attack was supposed to be simultaneous with the dive bomber attack. The dive bombers came screaming down from high altitude in practically vertical dives to drop their bombs. But the torpedo bombers were a little early or the dive bombers were a little late, and the torpedo bombers went in alone. Every single one was shot down, without scoring a single hit. All fifteen planes in Gay's squadron were lost, and of the forty-five men in their crews, only Ensign Gay lived. So Gay was floating in the middle of the Japanese fleet when the dive bombers arrived. All the Japanese fighter planes defending the Japanese fleet had come down to the deck to shoot up the torpedo bombers, so the dive bombers were not bothered as they unleashed their attack, fatally damaging three out of the four Japanese aircraft carriers in about ten minutes. Another couple of days passed before Ensign Gay was spotted by the crew of a Navy flying boat and rescued. It was a real miracle he was found. He lived until 1994. You might think he got a lot of grief over his name, but at that time "gay" still meant "happy". It did not become a synonym for homosexual until the 1960s.
Why fighters bombers and torpedo bombers were important in the war?
Bombers destroy the anti-aircraft gun's and gunners on the upper deck's of a warship, which allows the torpedo planes to come in (with out getting shot down) and blast holes under water on the warship's hull (below the water line), sea water quickly fills through the 30 foot sized holes, and sinks the warship. Fighter planes protect both the dive bomber & torpedo planes, from enemy airplanes, as they head towards their targets.
What were the arms that were used during the Battle of Midway?
Ship's AAA, dive bombers, torpedo bombers, and fighters.
What made the Torpedo Bombers obsolete?
Anti-Ship Missiles
What types of airplanes were there in World War 2?
Fighters (Hellcats); Dive Bombers (Dauntless); Torpedo Bombers (Avengers); Medium Bombers (Mitchells); Heavy Bombers (Superfortress).
