The John Batchelor Show

Sunday 7 December 2014

Air Date: 
December 07, 2014

 

Photo, above: The USS Arizona under attack at Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1943. The first Japanese dive bomber appeared over Pearl Harbor at 7:55 AM local time. It was part of a first wave of nearly 200 aircraft, including torpedo planes, bombers, and fighters. US reconnaissance at Pearl Harbor had been lax: a US Army private who noticed this large flight of planes on his radar screen was told to ignore them, since a flight of B-17s from the US mainland was expected at that time. The anchored ships in the harbor made perfect targets for the Japanese bombers, and since it was Sunday morning (a time chosen by the Japanese for maximum surprise) they were not fully manned. Similarly, US military aircraft were lined up on the airfields of the Naval Air Station on Ford Island and adjoining Wheeler and Hickam Fields to guard against sabotage, and many were destroyed on the ground by Japanese strafing. Most of the damage to the battleships was inflicted in the first thirty minutes of the assault. The Arizona was completely destroyed and the Oklahoma capsized. The California, Nevada, and West Virginia sank in shallow water. Three other battleships, three cruisers, three destroyers, and other vessels were also damaged. More than 180 aircraft were destroyed.  US military casualties totalled more than 3,400, including more than 2,300 killed. The Japanese lost from 29 to 60 planes, five midget submarines, perhaps one or two fleet submarines, and fewer than 100 men.

Hour One

Saturday 7 December 2014 / Hour 1, Block A: December 1941: 31 Days that Changed America and Saved the World by Craig Shirley (1 of 2)

Saturday 7 December 2014 / Hour 1, Block B: December 1941: 31 Days that Changed America and Saved the World by Craig Shirley  (2 of 2)

Saturday 7 December 2014 / Hour 1, Block C:   Pacific Air: How Fearless Flyboys, Peerless Aircraft, and Fast Flattops Conquered the Skies in the War with Japan. by David Sears (1 of 2)

Saturday 7 December 2014 / Hour 1, Block D: Pacific Air: How Fearless Flyboys, Peerless Aircraft, and Fast Flattops Conquered the Skies in the War with Japan. by David Sears (2 of 2)

Hour Two

 

Saturday 7 December 2014 / Hour 2, Block A: Fighting for MacArthur: The Navy and Marine Corps' Desperate Defense of the Philippines by John Gordon  (1 of 4)

Saturday 7 December 2014 / Hour 2, Block B: Fighting for MacArthur: The Navy and Marine Corps' Desperate Defense of the Philippines by John Gordon  (2 of 4)

Saturday 7 December 2014 / Hour 2, Block C: Fighting for MacArthur: The Navy and Marine Corps' Desperate Defense of the Philippines by John Gordon  (3 of 4)

Saturday 7 December 2014 / Hour 2, Block D: Fighting for MacArthur: The Navy and Marine Corps' Desperate Defense of the Philippines by John Gordon  (4 of 4)

Hour Three

Saturday 7 December 2014 / Hour 3, Block A:  Joe Rochefort's War: The Odyssey of the Codebreaker Who Outwitted Yamamoto at Midway, by Elliot Carlson and Rear Adm. Donald "Mac" Showers USN (Ret.) (1 of 4)

Saturday 7 December 2014 / Hour 3, Block B:  Joe Rochefort's War: The Odyssey of the Codebreaker Who Outwitted Yamamoto at Midway, by Elliot Carlson and Rear Adm. Donald "Mac" Showers USN (Ret.) (2 of 4)

Saturday 7 December 2014 / Hour 3, Block C:  Joe Rochefort's War: The Odyssey of the Codebreaker Who Outwitted Yamamoto at Midway, by Elliot Carlson and Rear Adm. Donald "Mac" Showers USN (Ret.) (3 of 4)

Saturday 7 December 2014 / Hour 3, Block D:  Joe Rochefort's War: The Odyssey of the Codebreaker Who Outwitted Yamamoto at Midway, by Elliot Carlson and Rear Adm. Donald "Mac" Showers USN (Ret.) (4 of 4)

Hour Four

Saturday 7 December 2014 / Hour 4, Block A:  The Pacific War Uncensored: A War Correspondent's Unvarnished Account of the Fight Against Japan,  by Harold Guard and John Tring (1 of 2)

Saturday 7 December 2014 / Hour 4, Block B:  The Pacific War Uncensored: A War Correspondent's Unvarnished Account of the Fight Against Japan,  by Harold Guard and John Tring (2 of 2)

Saturday 7 December 2014 / Hour 4, Block C:  Nomonhan, 1939: The Red Army's Victory That Shaped World War II, by Stuart D. Goldman (1 of 2)

Saturday 7 December 2014 / Hour 4, Block D:  Nomonhan, 1939: The Red Army's Victory That Shaped World War II, by Stuart D. Goldman (2 of 2)