Throughout World War II, the Imperial Japanese Navy dreamed of taking the war to the West Coast of the United States.
This was a difficult task because it is nearly 5,500 miles from Tokyo to Los Angeles. Only submarines had that kind of range and could stay hidden from detection during the day. However, unlike surface ships, the underwater boats had limited striking capability other than their torpedoes, and any damage to their hulls meant they could not dive and would be sitting ducks. Nevertheless, Japan would seek ways of taking the war to the enemy mainland until the end.
The first submarine to draw blood in the war between Japan and the United States was I-26. Stationed between the mainland and Hawaii on December 6, 1941, I-26 was tasked with observing ships sailing to Hawaii from the West Coast. Aware that the attack on Pearl Harbor was coming the next day, the captain of I-26 spotted the 2,140-ton Army-chartered schooner Cynthia Olson bound for Hawaii with its cargo of Army supplies just 300 miles off the California coast.
The sub maneuvered into a firing position that night so that she could begin firing at her victim at the expected time of the attack on Hawaii. At the appointed time, I-26 surfaced and fired a warning shot. The crew of Cynthia Olson sent an SOS and boarded lifeboats. The sub hit the schooner with a torpedo 20 minutes before receiving the message, “Tora, Tora, Tora!”—the coded signal to start the attack on Pearl Harbor. I-26 had jumped the gun.
