Attack on Pearl Harbor

The USS California sinking into the mud. The beached Nevada is seen in the background.

The Attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise attack by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the U.S. Pacific Fleet at the Pearl Harbor Naval Base on Oahu, Hawaii on December 7, 1941. It led to the declaration of war against Japan by the United States and brought them into World War II. Before the attack, most Americans felt strongly that the United States should not get involved in a foreign war.

Overview

Pearl Harbor was attacked by 353 Japanese fighters, bombers and torpedo planes. Japan had planned this attack for a year and a half, with the aircraft crews training for fourteen hours a day. The first wave of the attack arrived on December 7, 1941 at about 7:49 AM, Hawaiian time. The first bombs were dropped on Wheeler and Ford Island at 7:55 a.m.

The plan of attack incorporated lessons learned from study of the Fleet Air Arm attack against the Italian fleet at Taranto in November 1940.

The first wave

Battleship Row, the burning West Virginia settles into the mud next to the Tennessee

The war declaration was supposed to come half an hour before the attack, but communications were slow, and arrived after attack on Pearl Harbor. The Japanese would attack in two waves with the first wave, numbering 183 aircraft, attacked at 7:48 am local time. The attack waves were separated into 3 groups each with their own targets. The groups for wave one are as follows; Group 1 was ordered to attack battleship row and aircraft carriers and consisted of 48 B5N "Kate" bombers, armed with 800 kg armor piercing bombs, and 40 B5N's armed with type 91 torpedoes. Group 2 was tasked with attacking the ford island, focusing on the wheeler field airbase. This group consisted of 51 D3A "Val" bombers armed with 249 kg general purpose bombs. Group 3 was ordered to maintain air control for the mission by attacking aircraft on the ground. This group was made up of 43 A6M "zero" fighters and were equip for to make strafing runs.

The slow vulnerable "Kate" bombers led the way, exploiting the surprise, to launch torpedo attacks on the anchored battleships while "Val" dive bombers attacked the airfields and battleships. of the 49 bombs dropped only 8 hit their intended targets while 13 of the 40 torpedoes hit their mark. US sailors aboard the ships were woken by the sounds of explosions and gunfire. For the Americans the first wave was a time of confusion and, in some cases, panic as they struggled to bring effective fire to bear on their attackers. At 8:10 am the USS Oklahoma capsized and sank. Shortly after an Armour piercing bomb penetrated near the number 2 turret detonating the forward magazine. The first wave left around 8:30 am.

The USS Arizona exploding at pearl harbor

Second wave

The Second wave arrived over the harbor at around 9:00 am and immediately attacked. the composition of the second wave was; Group 1 54 B5N bombers armed with 249 and 60 kg bombs attacked the hangers of the air fields, Group 2 comprising of 78 D3A's aimed to attack the carriers and cruisers while Group 3, made up of 35 A6M's were on air superiority tasks.

After the attack was over, about 2,403 US servicemen were killed, (around half of which were from the destruction of the USS Arizona, 1,177) and 188 US Aircraft was destroyed, along with 53 civilians and about 64 Japanese servicemen, as well as one Japanese sailor, a midget submariner named Kazuo Sakamaki, was taken as the first prisoner of war. The attacked targets were USS California, USS Maryland, USS Oklahoma, USS West Virginia, USS Arizona, USS Tennessee, USS Nevada, USS Pennsylvania, Ford Island NAS, and the air fields around Oahu.

A map of the ships in the harbor.

Planning the attack was Isoroku Yamamoto. The original plan was to involve the destruction of the US Aircraft Carrier fleet, which he believed the destruction of would greatly lower the US's ability to wage war. He realized that the axis powers could not win a long, drawn out war. Luckily for the Americans their Carrier fleet was out on a drill leaving them undamaged from the attack. This combined with the fact that the aviation fuel tanks and dry docks remained undamaged allowed the US to wage war in only six months instead of the predicted two years in which the Japanese hoped to significantly advance.

The Oglala (right) has capsized after being towed away from the Helena (left) while the Shaw (drydock) burns and the Nevada (far right) makes her run for the sea.

Commanders

United States

• Admiral Husband Kimmel
• Admiral Walter Short
• Rear Admiral Isaac Kidd (Died on-board USS Arizona)

Japan

• Admiral Chuichi Nagumo

• Marshal General Isoroku Yamamoto

Order of Battle

United States

• 8 battleships
• 8 cruisers
• 30 destroyers
• 4 submarines
• 49 other ships
• ~390 aircraft

Empire of Japan

• 6 aircraft carriers
• 2 battleships
• 2 heavy cruisers
• 1 light cruiser
• 9 destroyers
• 8 tankers
• 23 fleet submarines
• 5 midget submarines
• 414 aircraft

Losses and Casualties from the Battle

United States

• 4 battleships sunk
• 3 battleships damaged
• 1 battleship grounded
• 2 destroyers sunk
• 1 other ship sunk
• 3 cruisers damaged
• 1 destroyer damaged
• 3 other ships damaged
• 188 aircraft destroyed
• 155 aircraft damaged
• 2,402 killed
• 1,247 wounded

Empire of Japan

• 4 midget submarines sunk
• 1 midget submarine grounded
• 29 aircraft destroyed
• 64 killed
• 1 captured

After the Attack

Following the Attack, United States President Franklin D Roosevelt asked congress for permission to declare war on Japan. Congress declared war on Japan on December 8, 1941. This led to the deployment of Martin B-26 Marauder bombers to Australia the day after the attack. Meanwhile, on December 11, 1941, Nazi Germany and Italy declared War on the United States. The United States was then at war with all three members of the Axis Powers and had officially entered World War II.

Adolf Hitler, leader of Nazi Germany, declares war on the United States on December 11th, 1941