Lahaina Roads is a waterway in Hawaii. The surrounding islands of Maui, Molokai, and Lanai make it a sheltered anchorage.
In 1941, Lahaina Roads sometimes was utilized as an alternate anchorage to Pearl Harbor. While planning for the attack on the Pacific Fleet, it was hoped that some significant units would be at anchor there because with Lahaina's deep water, those elements of the Pacific Fleet would in all likelihood, would never have been recovered.
The possibility that elements of the Pacific Fleet would be at Lahaina Anchorage was taken very seriously in the attack plan of the Kido Butai (The Japanese Naval Strike Force). Scout planes were dispatched from the fleet, and I class submarines were sent to Lahaina Roads to reconnoiter the anchorage.
