stealing the fleet

[Capt Spanky]

so after thinking a bit, we know the japanese could not have captured pearl harbor for the duration of the war.

but what if...

after their opening salvo is modified to not attack the u.s., they then hit pearl with the idea of capturing the ships of the us fleet and as much of its suppy as it can.

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

I don't see how they could capture the ships of the fleet.

1. I just don't see them getting a landing force to take the ships.

2. I doubt that the Navy would just stand by and allow them to be taken. The ships would be scuttled before that happened. Same with the supplies.

 

[yulzari]

Shades of the Altmark. Boarding parties with cutlasses. 'Your blade will never run out of bullets laddie.'

 

[Njaco]

The effort and logistics for them to 'capture' the US fleet as opposed to 'sinking' the US fleet are enormous and not within the abilities of Japan.

Same problem the Germans had with the French fleet and it really did them no good.

 

[GrauGeist]

The best bet for the Japanese was to strike the U.S. fleet and hit it hard.
At the time, the Japanese had a considerable fleet, and removing the bulk of the U.S. fleet was a far better option than running the risk of losing considerable assets (men, equipment) in a gamble of trying to steal a few capital ships of the American Navy.

The Japanese could have been far more effective in the 7 December attack had they also hit the fuel depots and drydocks in the initial attack waves, but they didn't and the rest was history...

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

Also the plan was not for Japan to capture Pearl anyhow...

 

[GrauGeist]

Right...Adm. Yamamoto warned the high command that a hard strike against Pearl would only buy them a little time, no matter how badly the U.S. fleet was damaged.

 

[davebender]

I agree. It's almost impossible to get infantry aboard a modern warship that doesn't want to be boarded.