| SCOUTING SQUADRON SIX U. S. S. ENTERPRISE | |||
| At Sea 13 December, 1941 | |||
| From: | Ensign P. L. TEAFF, USN, (Pilot of 6-S-2). |
| To: | The Commander, Scouting Squadron SIX. |
| Subject: | Report of Action on Oahu on 7 December, 1941. |
| Reference: | (a) Art. 874 U.S. Navy Regulations. |
- At 0805 the Air Group Commander and I approached Barbers Point from the northwest. We observed planes attacking Ewa Field. As we passed abeam of Ewa a Japanese fighter plane pulled up in a wing over and made an attack on me. I assumed it was one of our Army planes since I had not yet realized what was happening. The plane pulled up directly astern of me. I made no effort to maneuver. At about 75 feet he opened fire. No bullets hit the radioman or myself but they were liberally sprinkled through parts of the plane. They appeared to be .30 calibre since some of them glanced off the wing surface. The fighter turned and made another attack. I turned to the right as he approached and my rear seat man fired a short burst. He made no attempt to follow me but continued his run on the Group Commander. He opened fire at short distance but hit no personnel in the Commander's plane. No other enemy planes molested us. Later we were fired upon by our own batteries as we were landing at Ford Island.
- A few .50 calibre bullets passed through the horizontal stabilizer but caused no damage which affected the flying characteristics of the airplane.
- At 1230 I took off in company with 6-S-1 to search the area north of Oahu and attempt to locate the Japanese carrier. During the flight the oil temperature rose to 100° and on the return leg the engine began to miss badly. Difficulty was experienced in lowering the landing gear. Subsequent examination disclosed that one of the Japanese fighter's bullets had lodged in the engine and others had possible damaged the hydraulic system. 6-S-2 was placed in the A&R shop on Ford Island for repairs.
| (Signed) P. L. TEAFF |