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{
    "localId": "290017565",
    "label": "White House Press Release, Statement by President Harry S. Truman at His Press and Radio Conference, with Related Material",
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    "id": "290017565",
    "sourceUrl": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/290017565",
    "contentType": "document",
    "title": "White House Press Release, Statement by President Harry S. Truman at His Press and Radio Conference, with Related Material",
    "citationUrl": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/290017565",
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        "President's Secretary's Files (Truman Administration)",
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    "productionDates": [
        {
            "day": 30,
            "logicalDate": "1945-08-30",
            "month": 8,
            "year": 1945
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    "seq": 13,
    "pageIndex": 0,
    "type": "photo",
    "url": "https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/presidential-libraries/truman/hst-psf/602191/750350/750350-01-013.tif",
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    "ocrText": "- 12 -\nXIII.\nThe responsibilities of the Army included the\ninstallation and operation of an aircraft warning system\nfor the detection of water-borne and air-borne craft at a\ndistance from the coast. Throughout the late spring and\nsummer of 1941 the Army was engaged in the installation of\npermanent facilities for this purpose on the Hawaiian\nIslands. Permanent installations had not, on December 7,\n1941, been completed. By November 27, 1941, certain\nmobile equipment had been installed at temporary locations,\nand was being operated intermittently throughout the day\nfor the purpose of training personnel in its operation.\nOn November 27, 1941, in connection with the order for\nAlert No. 1, the Commanding General, Hawaiian Department,\nordered that this system be operated each day during the\nperiod from 4.00 A.M. until 7.00 A.M. It was intended that\nin the near future the Navy should have officer personnel\nin the information center, but up to December 7 such offi-\ncers had not been designated. In accordance with the\norder in effect, the system closed at 7.00 A.M. Sunday,\nDecember 7. A non-commissioned officer who had been re-\nceiving training requested that he be allowed to remain at\none of the stations, and was granted leave so to do. At\nabout 7.02 A.M. he discovered what he thought was a large\nflight of planes slightly east of north of Oahu, at a dis-\ntance of about 130 miles. He reported this fact at 7.20\nA.M. to a lieutenant of the Army who was at the central\ninformation center, having been detailed there to familiarize\nhimself with the operation of the system. This inexper-\nienced lieutenant, having information that certain United\nStates planes might be in the vicinity at the time, assumed\nthat the planes in question were friendly planes, and took\nno action with respect to them. The recording of the\nobservation made indicated that these airplanes were\ntracked towards the Island and then lost.\nOn November 27, 1941, there was sufficient par-\ntially trained personnel available to operate the aircraft\nwarning system throughout twenty-four hours of the day, as\ninstalled in its temporary locations. An arc of nearly\n360 degrees around Oahu could have been covered.\nAdmiral Kimmel, on and prior to December 7, 1941,\nassumed that the aircraft warning system was being fully\noperated by the Army, but made no inquiry after reading any\nof the messages of October and November from the War and\nNavy Departments as to what the fact was with respect to\nits operation.\nXIV.\nThe Joint Coastal Frontier Defense Plan provided that,\nwhen it became effective, the Army should conduct an inshore\nairplane patrol, covering the circumference of the Island of\nOahu to a distance of about twenty miles. Prior to December\n7, 1941, no inshore patrol was conducted, except during drills\nand maneuvers. Pilots were being trained on weekdays, and\nthe training involved flying around the confines of Oahu from\nabout eight o'clock in the morning throughout the day.\nOn Sunday morning no inshore ai rplane patrol was conducted."
}