Q&A · 2:14:07-2:15:06

What if Kido Butai arrived for an unannounced friendly visit?

A fanciful friendly visit would expose the same failure to detect the approaching fleet, while breaking the normal practice of advance notice.

Question

How would Washington react if Kido Butai reached Pearl Harbor undetected and docked beside Battleship Row for a friendly visit?

Short answer

Washington would panic at the surprise arrival, though the scenario is deliberately implausible and naval visits normally required advance notice.

Notes

An undetected carrier force arriving for a friendly visit beside Battleship Row would alarm Washington. The imagined gesture would display the ability to reach Pearl Harbor without launching an attack. Naval visits normally required notice well in advance. This is a deliberately implausible diplomatic counterfactual, with no suggestion that Japan planned such a visit.