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Patrol Squadron ELEVEN Report for Pearl Harbor Attack

 

PATROL SQUADRON ELEVEN

U.S. NAVAL AIR STATION

KANEOHE BAY, T.H.  

VP11

(0200)   

From: The Commander Patrol Squadron ELEVEN.  
To: The Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet.  
   
Subject: December 7, 1941 air raid; report of.  
   
Reference: CinC Pac. confidential despatch 102102 of December, 1941.  
  1. In compliance with reference (a) the following report is submitted.
    1. Disposition of planes before attack:

      2 planes in hangar.
      4 planes at south end of hangar.
      6 planes on ramp.

    2. Personnel present at start of raid:

      Duty section and some personnel who had arrived early to take over ready duty.

    3. Offensive action taken:

      Three rifles were manned immediately. Two machine guns were manned in a plane being removed from hangar shortly after the raid started. The machine gun positions in the plane were soon abandoned, the guns being moved to a safer position with as much ammunition as the men could get. A machine gun nest of 4 guns, 1 Browning Automatic rifle, and one Lewis gun was set up in a grove of scrub trees near the south end of the hangar and another nest of two guns was set up in a semi-protected spot hear the south end of the hangar.

    4. Damage to enemy

      From four to six planes were seen to be either smoking or spraying gasoline, one plane crashed and another was thought to crash.

    5. Damage sustained:

      7 planes were burned.
      1 plane was wrecked by gun and bombs beyond repair.
      4 planes were damaged but left in a repairable state.

      Practically all hangar and office equipment and stores were destroyed. All service records except one, all personnel flight logs, propeller logs, engine logs, plane logs and the master flight logs were saved.

    6. Under continuous attacks by the enemy, machine gun and rifle crews manned their guns and all other personnel worked to disperse planes and to save material.
    7. The following personnel lost their lives or were severely wounded in courageous performance of duty.

       

       

      FOSS, Rodney Shelton, D-V(G), USNR. Deceased
      SMARTT, Joseph Gillespie, A-V(N), USNR. "
      FORMOE, Clarence Melvin, 414 20 46, AMM1c, USNR. "
      MANNING, Milburn Alexander, 337 12 54, AMM3c, USN. "
      WEAVER, Luther Dayton, 381 35 39, Sea1c, USN. "
      BUCKLEY, John Daniel, 201 81 68, AOM3c, USN. "
      ROBINSON, James Henry, 372 29 81, Sea2c, USN. "
      NASH, Kenton (none), 368 36 41, Y1c, USN. Seriously Injured
      BYRON, Harry George, 114 95 60, ACMM(PA), USN. " "
      CROWNOVER, Joseph Talley, 268 25 28, RM1c, USN. " "

       

[signed]
F.R. JONES,
Lieutenant, U.S. Navy,
Acting Commander Patrol Squadron ELEVEN.

COPIES TO:

    COMSCOFOR
    COMAIRSCOFOR

     

    Source: Enclosure (E) to CINCPAC action report Serial 0479 of 15 February 1942, World War II action reports,
    Modern Military Branch, National Archives and Records Administration, 8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, MD 20740.

 

Published: Tue Mar 20 10:29:47 EDT 2018