Pacific · 7 Dec 1941 – 7 Dec 1941
Attack on Pearl Harbor
Japanese carrier aircraft struck Pearl Harbor and nearby airfields in two waves on 7 December 1941. The raid inflicted heavy losses but left U.S. carriers, fuel stores and repair facilities intact.
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Before dawn on 7 December, the Japanese carrier force had approached to roughly 200 miles north of Oahu. At 3:42 a.m., USS *Condor* reported a possible submarine periscope near the harbor entrance. USS *Ward* attacked a Japanese midget submarine at 6:45 a.m.; its warning did not produce a general alert. An Army radar station detected inbound aircraft at about 7:02, but the report was dismissed as a likely flight of American B-17s. The first Japanese wave, launched from six carriers, reached Oahu at about 7:40.
At 7:49, the Japanese air commander ordered the attack to proceed. Aircraft began striking Pearl Harbor and installations around Oahu at 7:55. Torpedo bombers and high-level bombers attacked ships in the harbor, while dive bombers and fighters also hit airfields and aircraft on the ground. Battleship Row, alongside Ford Island, drew much of the assault. USS *Arizona* exploded at about 8:10, and *Oklahoma* capsized. *California* and *West Virginia* sank in shallow water; *Nevada*, which had attempted to leave the harbor, was beached. At 8:17, USS *Helm* fired on a Japanese midget submarine near the harbor entrance.
A second wave of about 170 aircraft began its attack at approximately 8:50–8:54. It struck remaining ships and facilities, and USS *Shaw* exploded in dry dock at about 9:30. The air attack ended around 9:45; Japanese aircraft headed back to their carriers by about 10:00. Across both waves, 353 aircraft took part. The U.S. carriers were away from Pearl Harbor, and the attackers left the fuel storage tanks, naval yard repair facilities and submarine base undamaged. Those omissions limited the damage to the Pacific Fleet’s ability to recover and operate from the base.
The United States lost 2,403 military personnel and civilians killed and 1,178 wounded. The Navy recorded 2,008 killed or missing, the Marine Corps 109, the Army 218, and civilians 68. U.S. losses also included 188 aircraft destroyed. Japanese losses were reported as 29 aircraft and between 64 and 129 personnel killed in the supplied accounts; one Japanese sailor was captured. The raid was a Japanese tactical victory, but it did not destroy the American carriers or the base’s key fuel and repair infrastructure. Most damaged or sunken U.S. ships were later raised and repaired.