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I don't think the concept would have occurred without the British at Taranto. Until then, it was just an idea until the Brits proved it could work. You have to understand that the aircraft at that time wasn't really considered a major component of warfare, at least not to the extent it was by the end of the war or even '41. So convincing military leaders it was feasable without Taranto would have been difficult.
In the year preceeding the attack on Pearl, the Japanese used Karisima Bay to practice in. The depth of the bay, (which is comparable to Pearl) led them to alter thier torpedoes.
The aircraft found at Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941 differed very little from the aircraft that were there in 1939. The fact that the entire world was erupting in flames all around the U.S. seemed of little importance to the people in Washington who were managing to not only hold the purse-strings closed, but keep thier head in the sand at the same time.
I accept that. I never heard of Taranto.Can you tell me more about it?
First of all the IJN didn't have 6 Fleet carriers in 39, nor did they have the aircraft to do the job...the first examples of the Zero hadn't even been made yet, and at that time they didn't actually have a reason to pick a fight with the US, they were more interested in expanding their interests in China....
The U.S. Pacific Fleet relocated it's headquarters to Hawaii in 1941, but Pearl Harbor has been a primary fleet base since the late 1800's.