What code phrase signaled that surprise had been achieved during the Pearl Harbor attack?

“Tora! Tora! Tora!” signaled that surprise had been achieved during the Pearl Harbor attack.

Japanese naval aviator Mitsuo Fuchida transmitted the phrase after the first wave reached Oahu. In this context, “tora” was formed from Japanese words associated with a tiger and the idea of a surprise attack. Repeating it three times made the message concise and unmistakable.

The phrase was not the name of the attack plan itself. It was a communication sent during the raid to report that the force had achieved tactical surprise. The operation’s broader planning and command structure involved many other officers, including Isoroku Yamamoto and Minoru Genda.

The expression became internationally famous and was later used as the title of a 1970 film about the attack. Popular culture sometimes treats it as a battle cry, but its original role was a coded operational message.