noon
Scout planes urged on by impatient squadron commanders , climbed till they reached their ceilings , searching in vain . They could encounter nothing , see nothing of the invader . Thus passed a morning of growing tension . But by noon of that day , with a bare twenty-four hours left before the expiration of the ultimatum , the disc came down , showed itself boldly . There followed stunning disasters . One salvo , and the ray shot down -- the Atlantic Fleet , the pride of America , burst and melted in flaming hell . Squadrons of planes , carrying tons of bombs , frizzled like moths in the air .