"Ron" wrote in message
...
Was it the first of any sort of flight? The longest? Were any new
technological barriers broken, aces crowned, meritorious valor on the
part of any pilot? Were any records broken, or new trends in aviation
started? The answer to all these questions is 'no'.

It was the first time carrier based aircraft made a significant and
successful attack on a complete naval (and air) fleet (albeit in harbour).
It marked the beginning of the end for the battleship, in favour of the
carrier. I'd day that was a significant "first".

Nope. Not the first. From wiki (so I don't have to type so much) :
"The naval Battle of Taranto took place on the night of 11 November - 12
November 1940 during World War II. The Royal Navy launched the first
all-aircraft naval attack in history, flying a small number of aircraft from
an aircraft carrier in the Mediterranean Sea and attacking the Italian fleet
at harbour in Taranto. The effect of the British aircraft on the Italian
warships led pundits around the world to predict the end of the "big gun"
ship and the rise of naval air-power.
The Italian fleet had suffered heavily, and the next day Regia Marina
transferred its undamaged ships from Taranto to naval bases farther north to
protect them from similar attacks. Repairs to Littorio took about four
months and to Caio Duilio six, but Conte di Cavour required extensive
salvage work and its repairs were incomplete when Italy left the war in
1943. The Italian battleship fleet lost half its strength in one night. The
"fleet-in-being" diminished in importance and the Royal Navy increased its
control of the Mediterranean."


I would argue that WWII as a whole was the turning point from battle
ship warfare to air carrier warfare, not just the attack at Pearl harbor.
How you define "significant and successful attack" is a matter for you alone
to place in your own personal set of benchmarks. The Japanese may have
stepped things up a notch, or had some percieved increase of success in
their actions on 12-7-41, but it wasn't because of any great achievement in
aviation. Sadly, their success was due mostly to the fact that the US
forces were asleep at the wheel, confident that the Japanese wouldn't
attack. If anything, Pearl Harbor day is a red letter day in American
screw-ups in underestimating the enemy.


Luke