The Waterbury Democrat., 1945-11-21
On the Spot Harb0r'S Defenses Mounted SlowLy Before Jap Attack
By UNITED PRESS

four years old"
 More Guns Asked
 Bloch also said he believed it would be necessary to increase greatly the number of guns around the island in order to have "any semblance of anti-aircraft defense.'
 "The Army has planned an air. crash warning service which will consist of eight Radar stations. Three of these stations are fixed and five are mobile. When com- pleted at an indefinite time in the future, this warning net should be adequate"
 1 Mitchell next referred to letter from former Secretary of Navy Frank Knox to former Secretary Of War Henry L. Stimson which was made public last August
 Knox urged the Army particularly to stress the location and engage ment of enemy carriers and sup porting vessels before air attack can be launched" and location and engagement of enemy aircraft be- fore they reach their objectives."
 Further Defense Planned
 Mitchell then read a reply from Stimson dated Feb. l, 1941. St1mSon told Knox he fully agreed with the importance of this mat ter and the urgency of our making every possible preparation to meet such hostile effort"
 He told Knox the following ad- ditionS to the Hawaiian defense were contemplated:
 l. 31 P-36 pursuit planes within the next 10 days"
 2. 50 P-40-B pursuit planes to be ready for shipment by March Is.
 3. 16 3-inch anti-aircraft guns, 100 37 nm anti aircraft guns, 199 .50-caliber anti-aircraft guns.
 4. 40 barrage balloons for delivery by June 30, 1941, and A more by September.
 In response to another question, Richardson said Hull very com pletely and conprehensively" told him about U. S.-Japanese relations.
 He said Hull felt that The should take very strong position with respect to Japan" and retention of the fleet in Hawaii was neces- sary for that reason.
 Bluff Thought Possible
 Richardson testified that he re- cetived the distinct impression" that there was an opinion in Wash ington that Japan could be "bluffed.'
 Chairman Alben w. Barkley, D., Ky, asked Richardson if Kimmel 1 accaaiataI t1ritl, tho Anpt in the Pacific when Richardson was there.
 Richardson said Kimmel was in command of cruisers then.
 Q. Was Admiral Kimmel senior officer, under you?
 A. No.
 o. How far down the line was he? A. Well, he was pretty far down.
 Barkley then asked why Richard son wanted the fleet based at the west Coast.
 q presented solely the Naval point of view" Richardson said.
 Reason for Action Noted
 Barkley asked if Richardson had been impressed by the feeling in Washington that there were dip lomatic and psychological reasons for keeping the fleet in Hawaii. .,
 Absolutely" Richardson replied
 Sen. Scott w. Lucas questioned Richardson and asked. c. In respect to the letter you wrote Stark after Heron was noti- fled that the alert was on, did you receive any information from Wash inpton as to what it was all aboutP A. I sent him (Stark) radiogram asking what 1t was all about. He did not reply
 o. Did you see Admiral Stark when you were in Washington III OctoberP A. stayed with Admiral Stark. :.
 o. Did you ask him about it then? A. Yes.
 o. What did Admiral Stark say? A. He said it was an Army eXer- else
 The session. then recessed unti p. m. n.o,, ardson as the afternoon sessioi started. .,,,
 He asked again concerning the "alert" which Richardson hae oueried Stark. Richardson agaiI said Stark sent no reply but tolc him later in Washington 1t hae been just an Army drill , o. You later talked to Gen. Mar shall about it. What did you tel him? A. I told General Marshal that the commanding General (Her rom had received an alert, cdd no know whether it was an alert-tha there was some uncertainty an' uneasiness. and would ike to know inc reason. He said Oh, that wa simply an exercise and if dld no state that it was an exercise l ' would be carried out more com Fleet in Partial Readiness
 Sen. owen Brewster, R., Me took up the questioning.
 O. If hostilities had developed what would have been the mission of the fleet? A. Under existing plan if would have been necessary U return to the West Coast to mopli l ize-and prepare for offensive oper . ations. a. L.. l richardson said the fleet hal l been put in partial readiness 10 , battle. ,..,.. l Brewster asked what the mission of the Navy was to be in case 0 : a war. aoo , Richardson replied that the flee was under Orange Plan ]" l O. Did that contemplate som l offensive action by the heet3 ? A. Early action to reconnoiter an ? attack some of the mandate islands, with the taking eevntuall : of Truk-which in the time state l could absolutely not be realized
 Ammunition Low l Rep. Bertrand w. Gearhart, lR', ' cal1. asked if the fleet were "un dermanned, under-staffed and un der-proyisioned."
 No American fleet was eve r under r-proyisioned," Richardson sai' 3 We always had plenty to eat" |