Category: Radar

• Radar Sabotage

  This theory claimed that the radar operators at Opana Point detected the incoming Japanese planes and were then ordered to ignore the contact by a secret pro-war faction determined to ensure the success of the Pearl Harbor attack. In its strongest form, the theory says the dismissal of the radar plot was not a tragic mistake by an inexperienced officer, but a deliberate act of sabotage. The documented record confirms that the Opana radar station detected the incoming planes, that the contact was reported, and that Lieutenant Kermit Tyler told the operators not to worry because he believed the signal was from expected B-17 bombers. Official inquiries later found Tyler inadequately trained and not culpable. The public record does not support a secret pro-war cabal directing the radar dismissal.