pearl harbor, why no usn a/c in the air?

Snip

Launching things like seaplanes, which were present
at Pearl, would be useless and suicidal.

Fighters from ENTERPRISE did arrive over Pearl in the course of the
attack.

--
Andrew Toppan --- --- "I speak only for myself"
"Haze Gray & Underway" - Naval History, DANFS, World Navies Today,
Photo Features, Military FAQs, and more - http://www.hazegray.org/

Of course, if the relatively limited seaplane patrol assets had been used
for long range search, there was the possibility the attack force might have
been detected prior (perhaps well prior) to launch. As there were
insufficient aircraft to provide a truly effective search (perhaps 180
degree hemisphere to the west of Oahu), it was decided to not search at all.

The short and long term impacts of an early warning at Pearl are interesting
to ponder. There are a number of scenarios in which the outcome for the US
could have been far worse.

R / John