The Cannon's Lecture Series - John A. Rodgaard
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Brass Cannon Brewing Co. 5476 Mooretown Rd, Williamsburg, Virginia 23188
History informs us that one of the Imperial Japanese midget submarines sent to enter Pearl Harbor prior to the attack succeeded in entering Pearl Harbor. History tells us that it did launch its two torpedoes but missed its targets. It was subsequently attacked and sunk by the destroyer, USS Monaghan, DD-354. The midget submarine was later salvaged.
However, it was not the only midget submarine to enter Pearl Harbor during the early morning hours of 7 December. A second submarine entered the harbor, positioned itself on the bottom of the East Lock and waited for the aerial attack. Once the attack began, the second submarine successfully fired its two torpedoes with one hitting the battleship, USS West Virginia, BB-48 with the second possibly hitting the USS Oklahoma, BB-37.
John Rodgaard’s presentation will not only reassess the combat performance of the Japanese midget submarine force at Pearl Harbor, but he will demonstrate the successful attack by one of the submarines.