Tragedy of Pearl Harbor launches United States Maritime Strategy forward.

On December 7, 1941 the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor resulted in one of the greatest defining moments in history. The well-executed raid on the United States Navy’s Pacific fleet destroyed ninety ships and forced the Navy to completely change its maritime strategy. The new maritime strategy called for a greater reliance upon aircraft carriers as opposed to Battleships as a more effective strategy for maritime warfare. Although the events of that historic day were catastrophic, the lesson of that tragedy launched the Navy into the modern warfare tactics that are used today and documented in the United States National Maritime Strategy.

The current National Maritime Strategy defines key goals and objectives for the United States Navy. Specifically, the strategy outlines six goals:

• Forward Presence
• Deterrence
• Sea Control
• Power Projection
• Maritime Security
• Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Response

This strategy relies heavily upon the Navy’s force structure consisting of eleven aircraft carriers supported by over two hundred destroyers, cruisers, and auxiliary ships.

Note that not a single Battleship exists today in the United States Navy inventory of ships. Clearly, the aircraft carrier is the centerpiece of today’s maritime strategy and represents the most recognizable symbol of American naval supremacy providing five sovereign acres of United States territory that can be deployed in international waters at the will of the President.

Before 1941, Naval strategists debated whether Battleships or aircraft carriers provided the most capable firepower to accomplish the maritime mission. Battleship advocates favored its heavy caliber guns to deliver the firepower to conquer adversaries and ensure command of the sea. Compared to cruisers and destroyers, the Battleship’s heavy caliber guns provided far superior naval gunfire with ranges over twenty miles, but aircraft provided the capability to deliver ordnance for hundreds of miles. While Battleships enjoyed the reputation of providing supreme authority and control in naval operations, there was only a single fleet engagement of battleships during WWI to corroborate its exalted position. Nevertheless, the battleships reigned supreme as evidenced by its inventory advantage of eight battleships to three aircraft carriers on the eve of the historic Pearl Harbor attack.

The debate between the battleships and aircraft carriers was soundly resolved on Dec 7, 1941, when the Japanese delivered a fatal strike to the United States Pacific fleet using carrier-launched aircraft. The Japanese aircraft ironically destroyed eight American battleships and forever sealed the future of battleships by literally sending them to the bottom of the sea.

I believe that even without the events at Pearl Harbor, the United States Navy would have undoubtedly recognized the efficiency and supremacy of the aircraft carrier over the battleship. I have made this observation based on the relatively significant technological advances in aviation compared to lesser advances in ships. For instance, jet aircraft introduced in the early 1950s could fly faster, higher, and farther with more ordnance than WWII rotary aircraft, and thus were far more capable to wage lethal warfare. This fact alone would have ended the debate between battleships and aircraft carriers as the most capable war-fighting platform.

Today, the United States Navy has over 3700 operational aircraft, supported by 11 aircraft carriers and 286 deployable ships in its force. The Navy continues to advance and prepare itself to accomplish its maritime mission.

Even though December 7, 1941 was a tragic day in history, the United States learned a tremendous lesson on the power and lethality of carrier-based aircraft and the aircraft carrier. The tragedy at Pearl Harbor was the forcing function that drove the Navy to adopt the tactics and strategy used today.