BBC - History - World Wars: Pearl Harbor: A Rude Awakening Print this page Introduction It all happened so quickly. At 7.55am on Sunday 7 December 1941, the first of two waves of Japanese aircraft began their deadly attack on the US Pacific Fleet, moored at Pearl Harbor on the Pacific island of Oahu. Within two hours, five battleships had been sunk, another 16 damaged, and 188 aircraft destroyed. Only chance saved three US aircraft carriers, usually stationed at Pearl Harbor but assigned elsewhere on the day. The attacks killed under 100 Japanese but over 2,400 Americans, with another 1,178 injured. ... the attacks had been slowly brewing for years. Although swift in execution, the attacks had been slowly brewing for years. The US had once looked upon Japanese ambitions with a level of sympathy, even indulgence. Hit hard by the Great Depression of the early 1930s, however, Japanese disillusion with party government grew and moderates gave way to militants. In 1931 Japan occupied Manchuria in northern China. Over the decade conflict intensified and in July 1937 war was declared.

As Japanese aggression increased, its relations with the US deteriorated. Occupied Manchuria was rapidly exploited with the establishment of heavy and light industries. This was a practical necessity for Japan. Lacking in natural resources itself, the search for alternative supplies underpinned foreign and military policy throughout the decade and led to the attack on Pearl Harbor and the Pacific War. On top of practical economic considerations, early military success and an inherent sense of racial superiority led Japan to believe that it deserved to dominate Asian politics. As with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, this combination bred an aggressive and neo-colonial foreign policy, the 'Greater East Asia Co-prosperity Sphere'. Higher birth-rates and economic considerations required more land; the gene-pool justified it. Top Relations with the US A briefing of Japanese pilots before the attack © The policy increased in urgency as relations with the US sank further. Historically, Japan had relied on America to supply many natural and industrial resources. Increasingly alarmed by Japanese aggression, however, America allowed a commercial treaty dating from 1911 to lapse in January 1940. In July it followed up by embargoing scrap iron and aviation fuel.

Things got worse in September when Japan signed the Tripartite Pact with Germany and Italy. It was now a formal member of the Axis alliance fighting the European War. ... Japan knew that a full-scale invasion of South-east Asia would prompt war with America. This posed real problems. Although officially neutral, there was no doubt where American sympathies lay. President Franklin D. Roosevelt had already strained the sinews of neutrality by supplying Britain with money and arms under the 'lend-lease' agreement. The Tripartite Pact meant that supplies to Japan would indirectly be helping Italy and Germany; further embargoes followed. For Japan, embroiled in a long war with China, these were disastrous. Considering its very survival under threat, Japan intensified the search for a permanent alternative. The most obvious target was South-east Asia, rich in minerals and oil. German success in Europe in 1940 had orphaned French and Dutch colonies in the region and they became the focus of Japanese attention. While occupying French Indochina in July 1941, Japan knew that a full-scale invasion of South-east Asia would prompt war with America.

It needed a mechanism to buy itself sufficient time and space to conquer successfully crucial targets like the Philippines, Burma and Malaya. The attack on Pearl Harbor was that mechanism; merely a means to an end. By destroying its Pacific Fleet, Japan expected to remove America from the Pacific equation for long enough to allow it to secure the resources it needed so desperately and hoped to crush American morale sufficiently to prompt Roosevelt to sue for peace. Top An ill-prepared America President Roosevelt declares war on Japan following the attack at Pearl Harbor. © With war so widely expected, why was America so woefully ill-prepared? Rumours that began in the war are still hanging around, well past their sell-by date, fuelled only by revisionist historians and conspiracy cranks. They claim Roosevelt was itching for war with Japan but was constrained by US neutrality, so needed a solid reason to fight. Hence they accuse him of suppressing prior knowledge of the attack, or of provoking it to enable America to enter the war by the back door. Some even say that the attack on Pearl Harbor was deliberately engineered by a crypto-communist president guilty of high treason. In 1941 America was not ready for war. It doesn't add up.

In 1941 America was not ready for war. With US forces queuing for arms alongside Britain and Russia, Roosevelt knew he needed more time to build America's military capacity. If war was to come, he wanted Japan to be seen to be the aggressor, but Roosevelt was in no hurry. Furthermore, he saw Germany as America's main enemy. This 'Europe first' strategy was affirmed with Churchill at the Arcadia conference in late December 1941. Roosevelt had already pushed neutrality to the limit and had assigned warships to accompany convoys in the Atlantic. War with Germany was only a matter of time: why choose to fight another with Japan? Even when European conflict came, it did so only on Hitler's invitation after he gratuitously declared war. Top American myopia However hard you look, there is little evidence of anything more than blushing cover-ups of previous blunders. The real crime was one of incompetence on a huge scale. After all, the US had broken Japan's diplomatic codes and could sometimes decode messages faster than the Japanese themselves. The problem was not raw data, but its interpretation, evaluation and communication: it had to be used properly. This did not happen.

The real crime was one of incompetence on a huge scale. The administration and military were both guilty of a staggering lack of co-ordination between Washington and Oahu, and between different services. Japanese messages were decoded by the army and navy on alternate days and all too often one service failed to properly communicate their new intelligence to the other. And it wasn't just codes: on the day of the attack, Japanese aircraft were spotted by American radar. No action was taken: they were assumed to be a flight of B-17 bombers due in from the mainland. It's not as if America wasn't warned. In January 1941 Ambassador Grew in Tokyo passed on intelligence that stated that Japan was planning the attack. It was disregarded. Warnings from military personnel in February and July were overlooked, largely because they recommended massive transfers of aircraft to Oahu, aircraft that America simply did not have. War warnings from Washington to Hawaii ten days before the attack were virtually ignored. Team USA was proving pretty dysfunctional. This American myopia stemmed from complacent disbelief that Japan would mount such an attack, especially before declaring war. Yet any study of Japanese history demonstrated that pre-emptive attacks such as this were almost standard operating procedure.

Instead of concentrating on what Japan could do, the US tried to guess what it would do. It guessed wrong. Top The aftermath Although Pearl Harbor started the Pacific War, a war that Japan would lose badly, the attack itself was no failure. The Japanese wanted to cripple the Pacific Fleet and give them the space to invade South-east Asia. They did: Japan won every major battle until Midway in June 1942. By that time it occupied territory from Manchuria to the East Indies, and from India's borders to deep into the Pacific. The attack on Pearl Harbor bought Japan the space and time it needed. Although only chance saved the American aircraft carriers, their survival was a major blow. However, the primary problem with the attack was the planning. Had Japan focused beyond the fleet and targeted the crucial shore facilities and oil reserves, it could have inflicted far greater and more lasting damage. As it was, of the ships damaged or sunk on December 7th 1941, only three - the Arizona, Oklahoma and Utah - were damaged beyond repair, and Utah was already obsolete. Japan gave America the chance to rebuild its fleet and re-enter the fight with brand new kit. Operationally brilliant, the attack was nonetheless strategically disastrous.

Even worse, rather than crushing American morale as planned, the attack united the country behind Roosevelt and behind war. Americans were incensed by Japan's failure to declare war until later that day: the sneak attack fuelled American determination to fight on, even in the face of the setbacks of early 1942. Pearl Harbor and the invasion of South-east Asia showcased Japan at its best - capable of massive daring and painstaking preparation. Operationally brilliant, the attack was nonetheless strategically disastrous. Never again would Japan have the opportunity to act with such forethought and planning. It got itself the short term breathing space it wanted, but also a war against both Britain and America. To invite such confrontation was the result of courage, optimism and (possibly) madness on a massive scale. Japan lost. Faced with American military and economic might, it could never really win. So why all the conspiracy theories? Maybe because some just cannot accept that on the day, in round one, their boys were beaten by the better team. Books Scapegoats by Edward L Beach (1995). A revisionist account. The Way It Was: Pearl Harbor, the Original Photographs by Donald M Goldstein et al (2001).

Personal accounts and photographs of the attack. Day of Infamy by Walter Lord (1957, 2001). The first classic account of the attack At Dawn We Slept: The Untold Story of Pearl Harbor by Gordon W Prange (1991). The definitive history of Pearl Harbor Day of Deceit: the truth about FDR and Pearl Harbor Another revisionist account by Robert B Stinnett (2001) Infamy: Pearl Harbor and its aftermath by John Toland (2001). Pins the blame on Washington. Top About the author Bruce Robinson is a professional journalist who graduated with a first class degree in History from Cambridge University, specialising in English Social, Political and Economic History from 1300 to 1600. Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor December 7, 1941 - A Date That Will Live in Infamy The USS Arizona (BB-39) burning after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. (December 7, 1941).

(Picture courtesy of the National Archives and Records Administration) Share By Jennifer Rosenberg On the morning of December 7, 1941, the Japanese launched a surprise air attack on the U.S. Naval Base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. After just two hours of bombing, more than 2,400 Americans were dead, 21 ships* had either been sunk or damaged, and more than 188 U.S. aircraft destroyed. The attack at Pearl Harbor so outraged Americans that the U.S. abandoned its policy of isolationism and declared war on Japan the following day -- officially bringing the United States into World War II . Why Attack? The Japanese were tired of negotiations with the United States. They wanted to continue their expansion within Asia but the United States had placed an extremely restrictive embargo on Japan in the hopes of curbing Japan's aggression. Negotiations to solve their differences had not been going well. Rather than giving in to U.S. demands, the Japanese decided to launch a surprise attack against the United States in an attempt to destroy the United States' naval power even before an official announcement of war was given.

continue reading below our video 10 Facts About the Titanic That You Don't Know The Japanese Prepare for Attack The Japanese practiced and prepared carefully for their attack on Pearl Harbor. They knew their plan was extremely risky. The probability of success depended heavily on complete surprise. On November 26, 1941, the Japanese attack force, led by Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo , left Etorofu Island in the Kurils (located northeast of Japan) and began its 3,000-mile journey across the Pacific Ocean. Sneaking six aircraft carriers, nine destroyers, two battleships, two heavy cruisers, one light cruiser, and three submarines across the Pacific Ocean was not an easy task. Worried that they might be spotted by another ship, the Japanese attack force continually zig-zagged and avoided major shipping lines. After a week and a half at sea, the attack force made it safely to its destination, about 230 miles north of the Hawaiian island of Oahu . The Attack On the morning of December 7, 1941, the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor began. At 6:00 a.m., the Japanese aircraft carriers began launching their planes amid rough sea.

In total, 183 Japanese aircraft took to the air as part of the first wave of the attack on Pearl Harbor. At 7:15 a.m., the Japanese aircraft carriers, plagued by even rougher seas, launched 167 additional planes to participate in the second wave of the attack on Pearl Harbor. The first wave of Japanese planes reached the U.S. Naval Station at Pearl Harbor (located on the south side of the Hawaiian island of Oahu) at 7:55 a.m. on December 7, 1941. Just before the first bombs dropped on Pearl Harbor, Commander Mitsuo Fuchida , leader of the air attack, called out, "Tora! Tora! Tora!" ("Tiger! Tiger! Tiger!"), a coded message which told the entire Japanese navy that they had caught the Americans totally by surprise. Surprised at Pearl Harbor Sunday mornings were a time of leisure for many U.S. military personnel at Pearl Harbor. Many were either still asleep, in mess halls eating breakfast, or getting ready for church on the morning of December 7, 1941. They were completely unaware that an attack was imminent. Then the explosions started.

The loud booms, pillars of smoke, and low-flying enemy aircraft shocked many into the realization that this was not a training exercise; Pearl Harbor was really under attack. Despite the surprise, many acted quickly. Within five minutes of the beginning of the attack, several gunners had reached their anti-aircraft guns and were trying to shoot down the Japanese planes. At 8:00 a.m., Admiral Husband Kimmel, in charge of Pearl Harbor, sent out a hurried dispatch to all in the U.S. naval fleet, "AIR RAID ON PEARL HARBOR X THIS IS NOT DRILL." The Attack on Battleship Row The Japanese had been hoping to catch U.S. aircraft carriers at Pearl Harbor, but the aircraft carriers were out to sea that day. The next major important naval target was the battleships. On the morning of December 7, 1941, there were eight U.S. battleships at Pearl Harbor, seven of which were lined up at what was called Battleship Row, and one (the Pennsylvania) was in dry dock for repairs.

(The Colorado, the only other battleship of the U.S.'s Pacific fleet, was not at Pearl Harbor that day.) Since the Japanese attack was a total surprise, many of the first torpedoes and bombs dropped on the unsuspecting ships hit their targets. The damage done was severe. Although the crews on board each battleship worked feverishly to keep their ship afloat, some were destined to sink. The Seven U.S. battleships on Battleship Row: Nevada - Just over a half hour after the Nevada was hit by one torpedo, the Nevada got underway and left its berth in Battleship Row to head toward the harbor entrance. The moving ship made an attractive target to the Japanese bombers, who caused enough damage to the Nevada that it was forced to beach itself. Arizona - The Arizona was struck a number of times by bombs. One of these bombs, thought to have hit the forward magazine, caused a massive explosion, which quickly sank the ship. Approximately 1,100 of her crew were killed. A memorial has since been placed over the Arizona's wreckage. Tennessee - The Tennessee was hit by two bombs and was damaged by oil fires after the nearby Arizona exploded. However, it stayed afloat.

West Virginia - The West Virginia was hit by up to nine torpedoes and quickly sank. Maryland - The Maryland was hit by two bombs but was not heavily damaged. Oklahoma - The Oklahoma was hit by up to nine torpedoes and then listed so severely that she turned nearly upside down. A large number of her crew remained trapped on board; rescue efforts were only able to save 32 of her crew. California - The California was struck by two torpedoes and hit by a bomb. The flooding grew out of control and the California sank three days later. Midget Subs In addition to the air assault on Battleship Row, the Japanese had launched five midget submarines. These midget subs, which were approximately 78 1/2 feet long and 6 feet wide and held only a two-man crew, were to sneak into Pearl Harbor and aid in the attack against the battleships. However, all five of these midget subs were sunk during the attack on Pearl Harbor. The Attack on the Airfields Attacking the U.S. aircraft on Oahu was an essential component of the Japanese attack plan. If the Japanese were successful in destroying a large portion of the U.S.

airplanes, then they could proceed unhindered in the skies above Pearl Harbor. Plus, a counter-attack against the Japanese attack force would be much more unlikely. Thus, a portion of the first wave of Japanese planes were ordered to target the airfields that surrounded Pearl Harbor. As the Japanese planes reached the airfields, they found many of the American fighter planes lined up along the airstrips, wingtip to wingtip, making easy targets. The Japanese strafed and bombed the planes, hangers, and other buildings located near the airfields, including dormitories and mess halls. By the time the U.S. military personnel at the airfields realized what was happening, there was little they could do. The Japanese were extremely successful at destroying most of the U.S. aircraft. A few individuals picked up guns and shot at the invading planes. A handful of U.S. fighter pilots were able to get their planes off the ground, only to find themselves vastly outnumbered in the air. Still, they were able to shoot down a few Japanese planes. The Attack on Pearl Harbor Is Over By 9:45 a.m., just under two hours after the attack had begun, the Japanese planes left Pearl Harbor and headed back to their aircraft carriers.

The attack on Pearl Harbor was over. All Japanese planes had returned to their aircraft carriers by 12:14 p.m. and just an hour later, the Japanese attack force began their long journey homeward. The Damage Done In just under two hours, the Japanese had sunk four U.S. battleships (Arizona, California, Oklahoma, and West Virginia). The Nevada was beached and the other three battleships at Pearl Harbor received considerable damage. Also damaged were three light cruisers, four destroyers, one minelayer, one target ship, and four auxiliaries. Of the U.S. aircraft, the Japanese managed to destroy 188 and damage an additional 159. The death toll among Americans was quite high. A total of 2,335 servicemen were killed and 1,143 were wounded. Sixty-eight civilians were also killed and 35 were wounded. Nearly half of the servicemen that were killed were on board the Arizona when it exploded. All this damage was done by the Japanese, who suffered very few losses themselves -- just 29 aircraft and five midget subs.

The United States Enters World War II The news of the attack on Pearl Harbor quickly spread throughout the United States. The public was shocked and outraged. They wanted to strike back. It was time to join World War II. At 12:30 p.m. on the day following the attack on Pearl Harbor, President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave an address to Congress in which he declared that December 7, 1941 was "a date that will live in infamy." At the end of the speech, Roosevelt asked Congress to declare war on Japan. With only one dissenting vote (by Representative Jeannette Rankin from Montana), Congress declared war, officially bringing the United States into World War II. * The 21 ships that were either sunk or damaged include: all eight battleships (Arizona, California, Nevada, Oklahoma, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Tennessee), three light cruisers (Helena, Honolulu, and Raleigh), three destroyers (Cassin, Downes, and Shaw), one target ship (Utah), and four auxiliaries (Curtiss, Sotoyoma, Vestal, and Floating Drydock Number 2).

The destroyer Helm, which was damaged but remained operational, is also included in this count. Pearl Harbour memo shows US warned of Japanese attack - Telegraph USA Pearl Harbour memo shows US warned of Japanese attack On the 70th anniversary of Pearl Harbour, the attack that propelled America into the Second World War, a declassified memo shows that Japanese surprise attack was expected. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941 Photo: REUTERS By Jacqui Goddard in Miami 8:00AM GMT 04 Dec 2011 It was described by President Franklin D.Roosevelt as "a date that will live in infamy", a day on which the slaughter of 2,400 US troops drew America into Second World War and changed the course of history.

Now, on the 70th anniversary of Japan's devastating bombardment of the US Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbour, Hawaii, evidence has emerged showing that President Franklin D.Roosevelt was warned three days before the attack that the Japanese empire was eyeing up Hawaii with a view to "open conflict." The information, contained in a declassified memorandum from the Office of Naval Intelligence, adds to proof that Washington dismissed red flags signalling that mass bloodshed was looming and war was imminent. "In anticipation of possible open conflict with this country, Japan is vigorously utilizing every available agency to secure military, naval and commercial information, paying particular attention to the West Coast, the Panama Canal and the Territory of Hawaii," stated the 26-page memo.

Dated December 4, 1941, marked as confidential, and entitled "Japanese intelligence and propaganda in the United States," it flagged up Japan's surveillance of Hawaii under a section headlined "Methods of Operation and Points of Attack." Related Articles No Pearl Harbor conspiracy 08 Dec 2008 It noted details of possible subversives in Hawaii, where nearly 40 per cent of inhabitants were of Japanese origin, and of how Japanese consulates on America's west coast had been gathering information on American naval and air forces. Japan's Naval Inspector's Office, it stated, was "primarily interested in obtaining detailed technical information which could be used to advantage by the Japanese Navy." "Much information of a military and naval nature has been obtained," it stated, describing it as being "of a general nature" but including records relating to the movement of US warships. The memo, now held at the Franklin D.Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum in upstate New York, has sat unpublicised since its declassification 26 years ago.

Its contents are revealed by historian Craig Shirley in his new book "December 1941: 31 Days that Changed America and Saved the World." Three days after the warning was delivered to the White House, hundreds of Japanese aircraft operating from six aircraft carriers unleashed a surprise strike on the US Navy's base at Pearl Harbour, wiping out American battleships, destroyers and air installations. A total of 2,459 US personnel were killed and 1,282 injured. Conspiracy theorists have long claimed that Roosevelt deliberately ignored intelligence of an imminent attack in Hawaii, suggesting that he allowed it to happen so that he would then have a legitimate reason for declaring war on Japan. Up to that point, public and political opinion had been against America's entry into what was seen largely as a European war, despite Roosevelt's private support for the Allies' fight against the so-called Axis - Germany, Italy and Japan. But Mr Shirley said: "Based on all my research, I believe that neither Roosevelt nor anybody in his government, the Navy or the War Department knew that the Japanese were going to attack Pearl Harbour. There was no conspiracy.

"This memo is further evidence that they believed the Japanese were contemplating a military action of some sort, but they were kind of in denial because they didn't think anybody would be as audacious to move an army thousands of miles across the Pacific, stop to refuel, then move on to Hawaii to make a strike like this." As with the September 11 terrorist attacks in 2001, US leadership was guilty of a "failure of imagination" in its inability to translate warning signs into a specific prediction of the horror that lay ahead, he said. Roosevelt declared war on Japan the day after the blitz on Pearl Harbour. Japan, Germany and Italy reciprocated with their own declarations, but America's involvement in the war turned the tide against the Axis powers and ultimately led the Allies to victory. Americans, who a year previously had been assured by Roosevelt that they would not be sent to fight foreign wars, suddenly found their fates transformed. The US military swelled, with 16 million heading off to war, and women took on new and more widespread roles in the workforce, and in the military. Washington became a global power base and the War Powers Act gave the president supreme executive authority.

The "America First" movement, which had lobbied against the country's entry into the war and at its peak had 800,000 members, disbanded within days. "December 7, 1941, was the powder-keg that changed the world. It changed America instantly from an isolationist country on the morning of December 7 to an internationalist country on the morning of December 8," said Mr Shirley. The 70th anniversary of the tragedy at Pearl Harbour is being marked with a week of commemorative events in Hawaii. They culminate on Wednesday in a minute's silence and a ceremony of remembrance overlooking the wreck site of the USS Arizona, which sank with the loss of 1,177 lives. Of the 29,000 survivors who joined the Pearl Harbour Survivors Association following its foundation in 1958, only ten per cent are still alive, most aged in their late 80s and beyond. With so few left, and most unable to travel to reunions or help with the group's administration, the PHSA will close down after the anniversary. "It's going to be a poignant moment.

Sooner or later we're all going to be gone," said Duane Reyelts of St Augustine, Florida, who was a 19-year-old signalman aboard the USS Oklahoma when it was bombed at Pearl Harbour. He will turn 90 later this month, but still has vivid memories of waking in his bunk after working the midnight watch, when the ship's warning system sprang to life with the order: "All hands man your battle stations." Seconds later, a torpedo hit with a thunderous explosion. He could hear vast amounts of water pouring in below, and eight more torpedoes. The ship turned over, forcing him to scramble up a wall to escape. "I happened to be small enough to get out of a porthole. When I got out, I was sitting on the bottom of the ship and I couldn't believe what I was seeing: planes were attacking and the whole harbour seemed to be on fire. Bodies in the water, smoke, screams." he said. He hesitated to jump in the water, but had no choice as a stream of machine-gun fire rained around him from the aircraft overhead. He swam to the USS Maryland, where he joined a line of sailors hauling ammunition.

"The Navy and armed forces must have had notification that something could happen; being a signalman on the bridge and being on lookout, that was something we were told - if you see a periscope out there, it may not be ours. But we never really imagined an assault of this nature," he said. He will re-tell his story once more during a remembrance service aboard a US Navy vessel on Wednesday, when the ashes of Pearl Harbour veterans who have died during the last year will be scattered at sea. "Those of us who are left try to tell our stories as much as possible, not just for history's sake but because America needs to be kept alert today," he said. "America needs to remember the lessons of Pearl Harbour." Attack At Pearl Harbor, 1941 Attack At Pearl Harbor Printer Friendly Version >>> December seventh, 1941: the surprise was complete. The attacking planes came in two waves; the first hit its target at 7:53 AM, the second at 8:55. By 9:55 it was all over. By 1:00 PM the carriers that launched the planes from 274 miles off the coast of Oahu were heading back to Japan.

Poster commemorating the attack, 1942 Behind them they left chaos, 2,403 dead, 188 destroyed planes and a crippled Pacific Fleet that included 8 damaged or destroyed battleships. In one stroke the Japanese action silenced the debate that had divided Americans ever since the German defeat of France left England alone in the fight against the Nazi terror. Approximately three hours later, Japanese planes began a day-long attack on American facilities in the Philippines. (Because the islands are located across the International Dateline, the local Philippine time was just after 5 AM on December 8.) Farther to the west, the Japanese struck at Hong Kong, Malaysia and Thailand in a coordinated attempt to use surprise in order inflict as much damage as quickly as possible to strategic targets. Although stunned by the attack at Pearl Harbor, the Pacific Fleet's aircraft carriers, submarines and, most importantly, its fuel oil storage facilities emerged unscathed. These assets formed the foundation for the American response that led to victory at the Battle of Midway the following June and ultimately to the total destruction of the Japanese Empire four years later.

Aboard the USS Arizona The battleships moored along "Battleship Row" are the primary target of the attack's first wave. Ten minutes after the beginning of the attack a bomb crashes through the Arizona's two armored decks igniting its magazine. The explosion rips the ship's sides open like a tin can starting a fire that engulfs the entire ship. Within minutes she sinks to the bottom taking 1,300 lives with her. The sunken ship remains as a memorial to those who sacrificed their lives during the attack. Marine Corporal E.C. Nightingale was aboard the Arizona that fateful Sunday morning: ADVERTISMENT "At approximately eight o'clock on the morning of December 7, 1941, I was leaving the breakfast table when the ship's siren for air defense sounded. Having no anti-aircraft battle station, I paid little attention to it. Suddenly I heard an explosion. I ran to the port door leading to the quarterdeck and saw a bomb strike a barge of some sort alongside the NEVADA, or in that vicinity. The marine color guard came in at this point saying we were being attacked. I could distinctly hear machine gun fire.

I believe at this point our anti-aircraft battery opened up. "We stood around awaiting orders of some kind. General Quarters sounded and I started for my battle station in secondary aft. As I passed through casement nine I noted the gun was manned and being trained out. The men seemed extremely calm and collected. I reached the boat deck and our anti-aircraft guns were in full action, firing very rapidly. I was about three quarters of the way to the first platform on the mast when it seemed as though a bomb struck our quarterdeck. I could hear shrapnel or fragments whistling past me. As A captured Japanese photo shows Battleship Row under attack. Hickam Field burns in the distance soon as I reached the first platform, I saw Second Lieutenant Simonson lying on his back with blood on his shirt front. I bent over him and taking him by the shoulders asked if there was anything I could do. He was dead, or so nearly so that speech was impossible. Seeing there was nothing I could do for the Lieutenant, I continued to my battle station. "When I arrived in secondary aft I reported to Major Shapley that Mr. Simonson had been hit and there was nothing to be done for him.

There was a lot of talking going on and I shouted for silence which came immediately. I had only been there a short time when a terrible explosion caused the ship to shake violently. I looked at the boat deck and everything seemed aflame forward of the mainmast. I reported to the Major that the ship was aflame, which was rather needless, and after looking about, the Major ordered us to leave. "I was the last man to leave secondary aft because I looked around and there was no one left. I followed the Major down the port side of the tripod mast. The railings, as we ascended, were very hot and as we reached the boat deck I noted that it was torn up and burned. The bodies of the dead were thick, and badly burned men were heading for the quarterdeck, only to fall apparently dead or badly wounded. The Major and I went between No. 3 and No. 4 turret to the starboard side and found Lieutenant Commander Fuqua ordering the men over the side and assisting the wounded. He seemed exceptionally calm and the Major stopped and they talked for a moment. Charred bodies were everywhere. "I made my way to the quay and started to remove my shoes when I suddenly found myself in the water.

I think the concussion of a bomb threw me in. I started swimming for the pipe line which was about one hundred and fifty feet away. I was about half way when my strength gave out entirely. My clothes and shocked The USS Shaw explodes condition sapped my strength, and I was about to go under when Major Shapley started to swim by, and seeing my distress, grasped my shirt and told me to hang to his shoulders while he swam in. "We were perhaps twenty-five feet from the pipe line when the Major's strength gave out and I saw he was floundering, so I loosened my grip on him and told him to make it alone. He stopped and grabbed me by the shirt and refused to let go. I would have drowned but for the Major. We finally reached the beach where a marine directed us to a bomb shelter, where I was given dry clothes and a place to rest." References: Lord, Walter, Day of Infamy (1957), Prange, Gordon, At Dawn We Slept (1981), Wallin, VAdm. Homer N. Pearl Harbor: Why, How, Fleet Salvage and Final Appraisal (1968).

How To Cite This Article: "Attack at Pearl Harbor, 1941," EyeWitness to History, (1997). The Japanese launched a total of 353 aircraft in the attack. Of the eight battleships damaged during the attack, six returned to service. Five Japanese midget submarines joined in the attack. None were effective. One was found beached after the attack making its two-man crew the first Japanese prisoners of war. Pearl Harbor Attack United States History Pearl Harbor Attack Pearl Harbor Naval Base, Hawaii, was attacked by Japanese torpedo and bomber planes on December 7, 1941, at 7:55 a.m. Hawaii time. The sneak attack sparked outrage in the American populace, news media, government and the world. On December 8, President Franklin D. Roosevelt addressed the American Congress, and the nation, to detail the attack. He began: Yesterday, December 7th, 1941 -- a date which will live in infamy -- the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.

The United States was at peace with that nation and, at the solicitation of Japan, was still in conversation with its government and its emperor looking toward the maintenance of peace in the Pacific. Indeed, one hour after Japanese air squadrons had commenced bombing in the American island of Oahu, the Japanese ambassador to the United States and his colleague delivered to our Secretary of State a formal reply to a recent American message. And while this reply stated that it seemed useless to continue the existing diplomatic negotiations, it contained no threat or hint of war or of armed attack. In that address , the president asked Congress to pass a declaration of war. Congress obliged, voted and passed the U.S. Declaration of War on Japan , on the same day. That was America`s formal entry into World War II . The Pearl Harbor surprise attack has been depicted in many different films over the last 60 years - >Michael Bay directed Pearl Harbor in 2001, Fred Zinnermann`s From Here to Eternity was released in 1953, and the popular Tora! Tora! Tora! was made in 1970.

And while these films display how destructive and devastating the attack was, they aren`t able to include as much of the historical context because they only have 1-3 hours in which to tell the story. The attack took place on a sunny Sunday morning. A minimal contingent of soldiers was on duty at the time. Most offices on the base were closed and many servicemen were on leave for the weekend. New technology, including the new radar mounted on Opana Point, were in place, manned and functioning at the time of the attack. The incoming Japanese attack planes were detected by the radar and reported, but were mistaken for an incoming group of American planes due from the mainland that morning. While on practice maneuvers outside the harbor that morning, an American destroyer spotted a Japanese submarine attempting to sneak into the harbor. The submarine was fired upon, immediately reported ï¿½ and ignored. Pearl Harbor is located on the south coast of Oahu Island. At the time, the naval base was about 22,000 acres in size. The American fleet was under the command of Admiral Husband E. Kimmel and the ground troops were commanded by Lt. General Walter C. Short.

Pearl Harbor was the hub of American naval power since King Kalakua gave the right to the U.S. to develop a coal station there in 1887. The harbor had recently been designated as the American Pacific Fleet`s new home base because of concern over Japan`s increasing aggressiveness. Most of America`s military commands of the Pacific Region had headquarters on the base, yet the United States continued its isolationism . While there were veiled warnings and isolated events of Japanese hostilities in the weeks, days and hours ahead of the attack, no one in command at Pearl Harbor or in Washington, D.C. , expected a Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, especially before war was formally declared. Effective cryptography and successful cryptanalysis were in their infancy at the time. Under-funded, under-manned and under-equipped, cryptanalysts had been ordered to concentrate on Japanese diplomatic traffic, rather than naval messages. The nation would have had a much clearer picture of the Japanese military buildup and, with the warning provided by those messages, might have prevented the disaster of Pearl Harbor. Indeed, on the morning of December 7, the Japanese ambassador in Washington, D.C.

, had been ordered by his government to destroy all official documents and deliver a 14-page document to Secretary of State Cordell Hull at a specific time that day. After laborious manual decoding and translation, the document was delivered later than the Japanese government had intended. The news of the attack on Pearl Harbor had already reached the White House before the Japanese ambassador arrived at the White House. The world was stunned by the news. Military leaders of the Axis countries, Germany, Italy and Japan, were hell-bent on world domination by military force. Japan needed natural resources, especially oil, for its planned expansion. The Japanese had successfully invaded Manchuria in 1931 and China in 1937. Japan`s antipathy toward America had been seething for a long time. The United States` occupation of the Philippines during the Spanish-American War and America`s refusal to acknowledge Japan`s authority in occupied China fueled Japanese resentment. Imperial Japan`s sphere of interest in the far western Pacific was being threatened by America`s incursions into the Pacific at the very point in history when Japan itself was vying for dominance in the region.

It is a myth to maintain that strategists of both nations considered Pearl Harbor too shallow, with an average depth of 45 feet, for an attack by torpedoes dropped from airplanes, which usually required about 75 feet of depth. While it seemed improbable, a Hawaiian Chief of Naval Operations memo states that no harbor is to be considered safe from attack. Sabotage by Japanese agents was considered to be the greater threat. The Japanese had developed the technology, attack strategy and skill to successfully accomplish the impossible. The idea to attack Pearl Harbor had been conceived six months before. The American fleet was perceived as an obstacle to access the oil fields in Java, so the plan was conceived to affect a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor to destroy America`s Pacific Fleet. Additional targets included warehouses, docks, airfields and aircraft. The Japanese had developed a shallow running torpedo that would skim the surface of the water in the harbor after being dropped from a low-flying aircraft. The primary targets were the aircraft carriers and battleships that were among 92 naval vessels at anchor in the harbor. With data gathered and reported by Japanese spies on Oahu and Maui, the Japanese admiralty knew the location and quantity of vessels of each type in the harbor.

They had two concerns, the loss of surprise and the whereabouts of two missing American aircraft carriers. The carriers Enterprise and Lexington had previously been dispatched to Wake and Midway islands . Both aircraft carriers were hundreds of miles west of the Hawaiian island chain, at the time of the attack. About 360 Japanese attack planes had launched at dawn from aircraft carriers in an attack force of about 33 ships, under the command of Vice-Admiral Chuichi Nagumo. The strike force had steamed, under the cover of darkness, to about 275 to 200 miles north of Oahu. Once the bombers sighted the island, they split into two groups. One group proceeded overland at low altitude across the island and the other flew over the water around the island to make an approach from the south. At 7:55 a.m., the first bombs and torpedoes were dropped. After two hours, the U.S. sustained 18 ships sunk or severely damaged, about 170 aircraft destroyed, and there were about 3,700 casualties. Japanese casualties were minimal. Later that day, American ships were attacked on the high seas between San Francisco and Honolulu.

Japanese bombers from mainland bases attacked Malaya, Hong Kong, Guam, the Philippine Islands, Wake Island and Midway Island. In the remaining weeks of December 1941, many successive attacks encouraged the Japanese to believe their invincibility. Several investigations were conducted shortly after the attack. Admiral Kimmel and General Short bore the weight of responsibility imposed by Congress for the extent of the damage caused by the attack. Preparations to defend the base were based upon veiled warnings and vague directives from the White House and the Pentagon. Scouting planes dispatched from Pearl Harbor patrolled the vast ocean expanse around the island chain but had not detected the Japanese fleet heading for the Hawaiian Islands. The early morning radar sightings of the incoming attack force had been misinterpreted. Much of the American fleet was at dock in Pearl Harbor, but not as many key battleships and aircraft carriers were in the harbor as the Japanese had hoped. Epilogue What were the Japanese thinking when they concocted their Pearl Harbor plan? Were they not aware that such an act would ignite outrage in the American people and invite retribution? Had the delivery of the 14-page document to Secretary Hull been on time, would it have mitigated the outcome?

Japan eventually paid the dearest price for its conduct. During the weeks and months following the Japanese raid, a great deal of repair work was done by the Pearl Harbor Navy Yard, assisted by tenders and ships` crewmen. Those efforts lasted into February 1942. All but two ships were salvaged. Target ship Utah and the battleship Arizona were not returned to service, and their hulls remain in Pearl Harbor to this day. All of the foregoing represented one of history`s greatest salvage jobs. Seeing it to completion required that Navy and civilian divers spend about 20,000 hours under water in about 5,000 dives. Long and exhausting efforts were expended in recovering human remains, documents, ammunition and other items from the oil-fouled interiors of ships that had been under water for months. Uncounted hours went into cleaning the ships and otherwise getting them ready for shipyard repair. Much of this work had to be carried out in gas masks, to guard against the ever-present risk of toxic gases, and nearly all of it was extremely dirty.

Today the battle-scarred, submerged remains of the battleship USS Arizona rest on the silt of Pearl Harbor, just as they settled on December 7, 1941. The ship was one of many casualties from the deadly attack by the Japanese on that day President Roosevelt called "a date which will live in infamy." Photographs of the Arizonaï¿½s burning bridge, listing mast and superstructure in the aftermath of the Japanese attack, and news of her sinking were published worldwide. The photographs symbolized the destruction of the United States Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor and the start of a war that was to take many thousands of American lives. Indelibly impressed into the national memory, the image could be recalled by most Americans when they heard the battle cry, "Remember Pearl Harbor." Following the war, an effort was made to present Pearl Harbor as an avoidable disaster, brought about by FDR`s provocation of Japan and his unwillingness to permit a three-month cooling-off period. Historian Allan Nevins wrote in the New York Times Magazine in December 1945 that the three-month period was regarded by the administration as pointless and that China violently protested the idea.

He also commented that: And what encouragement did Japanese aggressors receive from America? It came in two different ways. It came, first, from men who loudly proclaimed that whatever Japan did in Asia was no affair of ours; that we should concern ourselves with nothing outside our own borders. It came, in the second place, from men who asserted that the United States need never fear any attack from any power whatever; that war with Japan was (as Oswald Garrison Villard wrote) "impossible"; that Japan could never hurt us and we could never hurt Japan. More than a million people visit the USS Arizona Memorial each year. They file quietly through the building and toss flower wreaths and leis into the water. They watch the iridescent slick of oil that still leaks, a drop at a time, from ruptured bunkers after more than 70 years at the bottom of the sea, and they read the names of the dead carved in marble on the memorial`s walls. ---- Selected Quotes ---- Pearl Harbor History: Why Did Japan Attack? Eyewitness Accounts, Casualty List, Background Pearl Harbor History: Why Did Japan Attack? Eyewitness Accounts, Casualty List, Background What Happened? What led up to that Day in Infamy?

War itself generally makes little sense, but the attack on Pearl Harbor has always sparked the imagination. 3,500 Americans were killed or wounded in the attack on December 7, 1941. Before The Attack September 1940. The U.S. placed an embargo on Japan by prohibiting exports of steel, scrap iron, and aviation fuel to Japan, due to Japan's takeover of northern French Indochina. April 1941. The Japanese signed a neutrality treaty with the Soviet Union to help prevent an attack from that direction if they were to go to war with Britain or the U.S. while taking a bigger bite out of Southeast Asia. June 1941 through the end of July 1941. Japan occupied southern Indochina. Two days later, the U.S., Britain, and the Netherlands froze Japanese assets. This prevented Japan from buying oil, which would, in time, cripple its army and make its navy and air force completely useless. Toward the end of 1941. With the Soviets seemingly on the verge of defeat by the Axis powers, Japan seized the opportunity to try to take the oil resources of Southeast Asia. The U.S.

wanted to stop Japanese expansion but the American people were not willing to go to war to stop it. The U.S. demanded that Japan withdraw from China and Indochina, but would have settled for a token withdrawal and a promise not to take more territory. Prior to December 1941, Japan pursued two simultaneous courses: try to get the oil embargo lifted on terms that would still let them take the territory they wanted, and ... to prepare for war. After becoming Japan's premier in mid-October, General Tojo Hideki See Books about Tojo secretly set November 29 as the last day on which Japan would accept a settlement without war. The Japanese military was asked to devise a war plan. They proposed to sweep into Burma, Malaya, the East Indies, and the Philippines, in addition to establishing a defensive perimeter in the central and southwest Pacific. They expected the U.S. to declare war but not to be willing to fight long or hard enough to win. Their greatest concern was that the U.S. Pacific Fleet, based in Pearl Harbor could foil their plans. As insurance, the Japanese navy undertook to cripple the Pacific Fleet by a surprise air attack. See Books about Japanese Plans The Warnings The U.S.

had broken the Japanese diplomatic code and knew an attack was imminent. A warning had been sent from Washington, but it arrived too late. Early warning radar was new technology. Japanese planes were spotted by radar before the attack, but they were assumed to be a flight of American B-17s due in from the West Coast. Read the eyewitness account The Attack On December 7th 1941, on an otherwise peaceful Sunday morning on a beautiful Hawaiian island, the first wave of Japanese airplanes left 6 aircraft carriers and struck Pearl Harbor a few minutes before 8 AM local time. See Map of Pearl Harbor In two waves of terror lasting two long hours, they killed or wounded over 3,500 Americans and sank or badly damaged 18 ships - including all 8 battleships of the Pacific Fleet - and over 350 destroyed or damaged aircraft. At least 1,177 lives were lost when the Battleship U.S.S. Arizona More about the Arizona exploded and subsequently sank. Eyewitness Accounts Read books by Survivors Read accounts from the people who were there. However, they did not sink any of our Pacific aircraft carriers and they left most of the fuel that was needed to win the war in the Pacific.

In one stroke, the Japanese navy scored a brilliant successï¿½and assured their ultimate defeat. The Japanese attack brought the U.S. into the war on December 8ï¿½and brought it in the war determined to fight to the finish. More Links BBC ON THIS DAY | 7 | 1941: Japanese planes bomb Pearl Harbor Search ON THIS DAY by date About This Site | Text Only 1941: Japanese planes bomb Pearl Harbor Japan has launched a surprise attack on the American naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii and has declared war on Britain and the United States. The US president, Franklin D Roosevelt, has mobilised all his forces and is poised to declare war on Japan. Details of the attack in Hawaii are scarce but initial reports say Japanese bombers and torpedo-carrying planes targeted warships, aircraft and military installations in Pearl Harbor, on Oahu, the third largest and chief island of Hawaii. News of the daring raid has shocked members of Congress at a time when Japanese officials in Washington were still negotiating with US Secretary of State Cordell Hull on lifting US sanctions imposed after continuing Japanese aggression against China.

He remembered that moment [Pearl Harbor] in later years as the end of one existence and the beginning of another At 0755 local time the first wave of between 50 and 150 planes struck the naval base for 35 minutes causing several fires and "untold damage" to the Pacific Fleet. The Japanese squadrons dropped high-explosive and incendiary bombs. A second strike followed at about 0900 when a force of at least 100 planes pounded the base for an hour. At least two Japanese airplanes have been shot down but it is reported that at least 350 men were killed by one single bomb at the Hickam Army Air Field, an Air Corps post on Oahu. Officials announced a further 104 Army personnel were killed and 300 were wounded in the raid. It is believed the attack was launched from two aircraft carriers. One radio report says US forces downed six Japanese planes and sunk four submarines. There are reports the Hawaiian capital Honolulu was also bombed as well as the Pacific island of Guam and the capital of the Philippines, Manila. A British gunboat, the Peterel, has also been sunk at Shanghai in China.

Reports from Singapore suggest a build-up of Japanese warships in the South China Sea and seem to be headed for the Gulf of Siam, towards Bangkok. President Roosevelt is working on a message to Congress tomorrow in which he is expected to ask for a declaration of war with Japan. The Times newspaper's Washington correspondent says the US Government expects Germany and Italy to declare war on the US within hours. Although the attack has shocked the American people there is little doubt that it had been brewing for some years. Relations with the United States have deteriorated since 1931 when Japan occupied Manchuria in northern China. Over the last decade conflict has intensified into a full-scale war between Japan and China. Last year, the US imposed trade sanctions on Japan. Then in September 1940 Japan signed a Tripartite Pact with Germany and Italy. It became a formal member of the Axis alliance fighting the European war but continued to negotiate with America for trade concessions until today. Japan's fury over the embargoes and allied support for China prompted a declaration of war.

Question: In which year was the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour in the USA?
Answer: 1941