Q&A ยท 5:52-6:29

Did the US Navy study Taranto?

A question on Taranto highlights the difference between holding a warning report and getting it to the officers who need it.

Question

Did the US Navy pay attention to the Royal Navy's Taranto air strike?

Short answer

It produced a report, but the report was not disseminated effectively and an officer offering to brief Hawaii was not sent there.

Notes

The US Navy produced a report on the Royal Navy's Taranto strike, so the problem was not a total absence of analysis. The officer involved offered to brief Hawaii but was not sent there and later went to Alaska. Kimmel's command therefore did not receive the warning in a form that could shape local preparations. Collecting information is useless unless an institution delivers it to the officers who must act on it.