The Bombing of Pearl Harbor

JAPANESE PLAN | ATTACK DETAILS | ATTACKS | BATTLESHIP ROW | THE USS ARIZONA | EFFECTS

The first encounter between the United States and Japan in World War II occurred at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. In Japan it was already December 8. In Hawaii it was December 7. The historical significance for each country is different but certain facts can be agreed upon. The US had begun an oil embargo in the summer of 1941 while freezing Japanese assets in the United States. The two countries begin to negotiate a treaty to avoid war. These negotiations begin to fall apart and the Japanese formulate an attack plan. Along with destroying the US Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor, the Japanese sought to invade Thailand, conquer the Philippines, Borneo, British Malaya and Sumatra. This was all done to establish a defensive perimeter around Japan. The commander of the Japanese Combined Fleet at this time was Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto (pictured at left). He was able to persuade the Naval High Command and Government to attack Pearl Harbor.

Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo (pictured at right) commanded the actual attack on Pearl Harbor. He set sail secretly on November 26, 1941 with specific orders to abort the mission if discovered by the United States. On December 7, 1941, the fleet was less than 300 miles away from Pearl Harbor. The complete force involved in the attack included six carriers, two battleships, two heavy cruisers, one light cruiser, nine destroyers, three submarines and eight oilers. The Japanese Ships involved in the attack included: Akagi (Red Castle), Kaga (Increased Joy), Shokaku (Happy Crane), Zuikaku (Lucky Crane), Hiryu (Flying Dragon), and Soryu (Green Dragon). The major aircraft used in the attack included Aichi 3A2 which was a Carrier-borne single-engine dive bomber; Mitsubishi A6M2 Zeke or Zero Model which was a Carrier-borne fighter; and a Nakajima B5N2 Kate Type 97 Model which was a Single-engine torpedo bomber. The attack also used midget submarines.

The bombing of Pearl Harbor began at 7:55 Hawaii Time. The Japanese used a variety of forces in two waves. The first wave began at 7:55 and included three attack groups. The first attack group consisted of torpedo bombers whose primary targets were the ships moored at Battleship Row. These planes came from the Akagi, Hiryu, Kaga, and the Soryu. The Second Group of the first wave came from the Shokaku and Zuikaku and consisted of dive bombers whose targets were Hickam and Wheeler Airfield. The Third Group that attacked in the first wave were combat fighters from Akagi, Kaga, Soryu, Hiryu, Shokaku, and Zuikaku. Their primary targets included the grounded aircraft at Hickham, Ewa, Bellows, Kaneohe and Ford Island. The second wave of the attack began at 8:55. The second wave of the attack focused primarily on Kaneohe Naval Air Station, Hickam Air Field, Ford Island and the remaining battleships. The planes involved in the second wave were from Shokaku, Zuikaku, Akagi, Soryu and Kaga. By 9:55 AM the attack was over. By 1 PM the Japanese carriers involved in that attack were headed back to Japan.

A variety of ships positioned around Pearl Harbor the morning of the attack. Ford Island had an air station as well as many ships docked around it. Among the ships off the Northwest side of the Ford Island were Utah, the Raleigh and the Detroit. Off the Southeast side of Ford Island were the USS California, USS Maryland, USS Oklahoma, USS West Virginia, USS Tennessee, USS Arizona, USS Vestal, and USS Nevada. This area southeast of Ford Island was referred to as Battleship Row. This became a primary target in meeting the Japanese objective of destroying the US Pacific Fleet. The USS Oklahoma and USS Utah were two of the first ships struck on December 7. The USS Oklahoma which the USS Maryland was tied to, was hit with five torpedoes. It capsized killing 429 men, while 32 survivors were cut out of the hull in the days following the attack. Many of the USS Oklahoma crew joined the battle on the USS Maryland. The USS Utah was hit with two torpedoes and capsized in 13 minutes. The USS California was hit by two torpedoes between 8 AM and 8:10 AM. The USS Maryland was hit by two bombs. The USS Tennessee was hit by two bombs. The USS West Virginia was hit with six torpedoes and two bombs. It was half sunk. The USS Nevada was hit with a torpedo and six bombs and was half sunk. The USS Pennsylvania was in dry dock and was hit with two bombs in the second wave between 9 AM and 9:10 AM.

Perhaps the most famous of the battleships was the USS Arizona. The USS Arizona was hit with 8 bombs and a torpedo between beginning at 8:05 AM. Within roughly nine minutes, it had sunk. One armor-piercing bomb exploded the forward magazines and one went down its smokestack. The USS Arizona had a crew of 1500 men. Of those 1,500 men, 1, 177 were killed that day. Many of the men were trapped below due to the time and type of the attack. Only 75 bodies were recovered from the ship. It was decided that the USS Arizona should remain where it sank and a memorial was built over it.

The immediate effects of the bombing of Pearl Harbor were staggering. The American dead was over 2,400. The wounded military personnel and civilians were over 1,100. By 11 AM a state of emergency was declared in Hawaii and by 4:25 Governor Poindexter declared Martial Law. On December 8, 1941, the United States declares war on Japan brining the US into World War II. While the Japanese objective of Pearl Harbor to destroy the US Pacific Fleet was not completely met, it was successful in damaging the US ships. The USS Tennessee and USS Maryland were repaired in two months time. The USS Pennsylvania was repaired in by March 1942 followed by the USS California in May 1942 and the USS Nevada in December 1942. The USS West Virginia finally rejoined the fleet on July 4, 1944 after spending most of the war undergoing repairs. The USS Arizona, USS Oklahoma, and USS Utah were complete losses. The one effect of the bombing of Pearl Harbor the Japanese did not count on was the rallying point the day became to the Americans. Perhaps the best example of this is the poster at left.

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