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The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise attack against the United States\' naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii by the Japanese navy, on the morning of Sunday, December 7, 1941, resulting in the United States becoming involved in World War II. It was intended as a preventive action to remove the US Pacific Fleet as a factor in the war Japan was about to wage against Britain, the Netherlands, and the United States. Two aerial attack waves, totaling 353Parillo 2006, p. 288 aircraft, launched from six Japanese aircraft carriers, intending to reduce or eliminate United States\' military power in the Pacific.
The attack wrecked two U.S. Navy battleships, one minelayer, and two destroyers beyond repair, and destroyed 188 aircraft; personnel losses were 2,388 killed and 1,178 wounded. Damaged warships included three cruisers, a destroyer, and six battleships (one deliberately grounded, later refloated and repaired; two sunk at their berths, later raised, repaired, and eventually restored to Fleet service). Vital fuel storage, shipyard, maintenance, and headquarters facilities were not hit. Japanese losses were minimal, at 29 aircraft and five midget submarines, with 65 servicemen killed or wounded.
The intent of the strike was to protect Imperial Japan\'s advance into Malaya and the Dutch East Indies — for their natural resources such as oil and rubber — by neutralizing the U.S. Pacific Fleet. Both the U.S. and Japan had long-standing contingency plans for war in the Pacific, continuously updated as tension between the two countries steadily increased during the 1930s. Japan\'s expansion into Manchuria and French Indochina were greeted with steadily increasing levels of embargoes and sanctions by the United States and others. In 1940, under the Export Control Act, the U.S. halted shipments of airplanes, parts, machine tools, and aviation gasoline, which Japan saw as an unfriendly act.GPO 1943, p. 96 After it was announced in September export of iron and steel scrap would be prohibited, Japanese Ambassador Horinouchi protested to Secretary Hull on October 8, 1940, this might be considered an "unfriendly act". Nevertheless, the U.S. continued to export oil to Japan, in part because it was understood in Washington cutting off oil exports would be an extreme step, given Japanese dependence on U.S. oil exports,GPO 1943, p. 94.Toland, Japan\'s War. likely to be taken as a provocation by Japan. In the summer of 1941, after Japanese expansion into French Indochina, the U.S. ceased oil exports to Japan, in part because of new American restrictions on domestic oil consumption.GPO 1943, p. 125. President Franklin D. Roosevelt had earlier moved the Pacific Fleet to Hawaii and ordered a buildup in the Philippines, hoping to deter Japanese aggression in the Far East. The Japanese high command was (mistakenly)Peattie 1997. certain an attack on the United Kingdom\'s colonies would bring the U.S. into the war,Peattie 1997. so a preventive strike appeared to be the only way Japan could avoid U.S. interference in the Pacific.An invasion of the Philippines was taken as necessary by Japanese planners, and reconquest had been a given in War Plan Orange as far back as 1897. While it accomplished the intended objective, unbeknownst to Isoroku Yamamoto, who planned the attack and commanded the attacking force, the attack was pointless. The U.S. Navy in 1935 had abandoned any intention of attempting to charge across the Pacific towards the Philippines at the outset of war (in keeping with the evolution of War Plan Orange), and in 1940 adopted "Plan Dog", which emphasized keeping the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) out of the eastern Pacific and away from the shipping lanes to Australia, while the U.S. concentrated on defeating Nazi Germany.
The attack was one of the most important engagements of World War II. Occurring as it did before a formal declaration of war, it pushed U.S. public opinion from isolationism to an acceptance war was unavoidable, as Roosevelt called December 7, 1941 "... a date which will live in infamy."
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Pearl Harbor on 30 October 1941.
War between Japan and the United States had been a possibility each nation had been aware of (and developed contingency plans for) since the 1920s, though tension did not begin to grow serious until Japan\'s 1931 invasion of Manchuria. Over the next decade, Japan continued to expand into China leading to all out war between the two in 1937. In 1940, Japan invaded French Indochina, partly in an effort to control supplies reaching China, and partly as a first step to improve her access to resources in Southeast Asia. This move prompted an American embargo on oil exports to Japan, which in turn caused the Japanese to decide to commence the planned takeover of oil supplies in the Dutch East Indies.This was mainly a Navy preference; the Army would rather have attacked the Soviet Union. Peattie 1997; Coox, Kobun.
Preliminary planning for an attack at Pearl Harbor, to protect this move into the "Southern Resource Area" (the Japanese term for the East Indies and Southeast Asia generally), had begun in very early 1941, under the auspices of Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, then commanding Japan\'s Combined Fleet.Gailey 1995, p. 68. He won assent to formal planning and training for an attack from the Imperial Japanese Navy General Staff only after much contention with Naval Headquarters, including a threat to resign his command.Gailey 1995, p. 70. Full-scale planning was underway by early spring 1941, primarily by Captain Minoru Genda. Over the next several months, pilots trained, equipment was adapted, and intelligence gathered. Despite these preparations, the actual approval of the attack plan was not issued by Emperor Shōwa until 5 November, after the third of four Imperial Conferences which considered the matter.Peter Wetzler, Hirohito and War, 1998, p.39 Final authorization to attack was not given by him until December 1, after a majority of Japanese leaders had advised him that the "Hull Note" would "destroy the fruits of the China incident, endangered Manchukuo and undermined control of Korea."(Herbert Bix, Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan, 2000, p.417, citing the Sugiyama memo) Hostilities between the U.S. and Japan were expected by many observers, including President Roosevelt, who read a decrypted Japanese message and told his assistant Harry Hopkins, "This means war."Theobold 1954, p. 28.
At 03:42Smith 1999, p. 36. Hawaiian Time, hours before commanding Admiral Chuichi Nagumo began launching strike aircraft, the minesweeper USS Condor spotted a midget submarine outside the harbor entrance and alerted destroyer USS Ward. Ward was initially unsuccessful in locating the target. Hours later, Ward fired America\'s first shots in the Pacific theater of WWII when she attacked and sank a midget submarine, perhaps the same one, at 06:37.
Five midget submarines had been assigned to torpedo U.S. ships after the bombing started. None of these returned, and only four have since been found. Of the ten sailors aboard, nine died; the only survivor, Kazuo Sakamaki, was captured, becoming the first Japanese prisoner of war.Sakamaki\'s unexpected survival was despised by many Japanese, who referred to his dead companions as "The Nine Young Gods." United States Naval Institute analysis of photographs from the attack, conducted in 1999, indicates one of these mini-subs entered the harbor and successfully fired a torpedo into the USS West Virginia, what may have been the first shot by the attacking Japanese. Her final disposition is unknown.Rodgaard 1999.
The attackers came in two waves. The first wave was detected by U.S. Army radar at 136 nautical miles (252 km), but was misidentified as USAAF bombers from the mainland.
Top:
A. Ford Island NAS B. Hickam Field C. Bellows Field D. Wheeler Field
E. Kaneohe NAS F. Ewa MCAS R-1. Opana Radar Station R-2. Kawailoa RS R-3. Kaaawa RS
G. Haleiwa H. Kahuku I. Wahiawa J. Kaneohe K. Honolulu
0. B-17s from mainland 1. First strike group 1-1. Level bombers 1-2. Torpedo bombers 1-3. Dive bombers 2. Second strike group 2-1. Level bombers 2-1F. Fighters 2-2. Dive bombers
Bottom:
A. Wake Island B. Midway Islands C. Johnston Island D. Hawaii
D-1. Oʻahu1. USS Lexington 2. USS Enterprise 3. First Air Fleet
Targets:
1: USS California
2: USS Maryland
3: USS Oklahoma
4: USS Tennessee
5: USS West Virginia
6: USS Arizona
7: USS Nevada
8: USS Pennsylvania
9: Ford Island NAS
10: Hickam field
Ignored:
A: Oil storage tanks
B:CINCPAC headquarters building
C: Submarine base
D: Navy Yard
The first attack wave launched north of Oʻahu, commanded by Captain Mitsuo Fuchida. It included:AIRCRAFT ATTACK ORGANIZATION The Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor, Planning and Execution. First wave: 189 planes, 50 Kates w/bombs, 40 Kates with torpedoes, 54 Vals, 45 Zekes Second wave: 171 planes, 54 Kates w/bombs, 81 Vals, 36 Zekes. The Combat Air Patrol over the carriers alternated 18 plane shifts every two hours with 18 more ready for takeoff on the flight decks and an additional 18 ready on hangar decks.
As the first wave approached Oʻahu, an Army SCR-270 radar at Opana Point, near the island\'s northern tip (a post not yet operational, having been in training mode for months), detected them and called in a warning. Although the operators reported a target echo larger than anything they had ever seen, an untrained officer at the new and only partially activated Intercept Center, Lieutenant Kermit A. Tyler, presumed the scheduled arrival of six B-17 bombers was the source; the direction from which the aircraft were coming was close (only a few degrees separated the two inbound courses);Prange 1999, p. 98. the operators had never seen a formation as large as the U.S. bombers\' on radar;Prange 1999, p. 97. and possibly because the operators had only seen the lead element of incoming attack.
Several U.S. aircraft were shot down as the first wave approached land; one at least radioed a somewhat incoherent warning. Other warnings from ships off the harbor entrance were still being processed, or awaiting confirmation, when the planes began bombing and strafing. Nevertheless, it is not clear any warnings would have had much effect even if they had been interpreted correctly and much more promptly. For instance, the results the Japanese achieved in the Philippines were essentially the same as at Pearl Harbor, though MacArthur had almost nine hours warning the Japanese had attacked at Pearl (and specific orders to commence operations) before they actually struck his command.
The air portion of the attack on Pearl Harbor began at 7:48 a.m. Hawaiian Time (3:18 a.m. December 8 Japanese Standard Time, as kept by ships of the Kido Butai), with the attack on Kaneohe.Prange 1999, p. 174. A total of 353 Japanese planes in two waves reached Oʻahu. Slow, vulnerable torpedo bombers led the first wave, exploiting the first moments of surprise to attack the most important ships present (the battleships), while dive bombers attacked U.S. air bases across Oʻahu, starting with Hickam Field, the largest, and Wheeler Field, the main U.S. Army Air Corps fighter base. The 171 planes in the second wave attacked the Air Corps\' Bellows Field near Kaneohe on the windward side of the island, and Ford Island. The only air opposition came from a handful of P-36 Hawks and P-40 Warhawks.In the twenty-five sorties flown, USAF Historical Study No.85 credits six pilots with ten planes destroyed: 1st Lt Lewis M. Sanders (P-36) and 2nd Lts Philip M Rasmussen (P-36), Gordon H. Sterling Jr. (P-36, killed in action), Harry W. Brown (P-36), Kenneth M. Taylor (P-40, 2), and George S. Welch (P-40, 4). Three of the P-36 kills were not verified by the Japanese and may have been shot down by naval anti-aircraft fire.
Men aboard U.S. ships awoke to the sounds of alarms, bombs exploding, and gunfire prompting bleary eyed men into dressing as they ran to General Quarters stations. (The famous message, "Air raid Pearl Harbor. This is not drill.",Odd though it may sound, "not" is correct, in keeping with standard Navy telegraphic practice. This was confirmed by Beloite and Beloite after years of research and debate. was sent from the headquarters of Patrol Wing Two, the first senior Hawaiian command to respond.) The defenders were very unprepared. Ammunition lockers were locked, aircraft parked wingtip to wingtip in the open to deter sabotage,Parillo 2006, p. 293 guns unmanned (none of the Navy\'s 5"/38 AA and only a quarter of its machine guns, and only four of 31 Army batteries got in action). Despite this and low alert status, many American military personnel responded effectively during the battle.The gunners that did get in action scored most of the victories against Japanese aircraft that morning, including the first of the attack, by Tautog, and Dorie Miller\'s Navy Cross-worthy effort. Miller was an African-American cook aboard West Virginia who took over an unattended anti-aircraft gun on which he had no training. He was the first African-American sailor to be awarded the Navy Cross. Ensign Joe Taussig got his ship, USS Nevada, underway from dead cold during the attack. One of the destroyers, USS Aylwin, got underway with only four officers aboard, all Ensigns, none with more than a year\'s sea duty; she operated at sea for four days before her commanding officer managed to get aboard. Captain Mervyn Bennion, commanding USS West Virginia (Kimmel\'s flagship), led his men until he was cut down by fragments from a bomb hit to USS Tennessee, moored alongside.
Gallantry was widespread. In all, 14 officers and sailors were awarded the Medal of Honor. A special military award, the Pearl Harbor Commemorative Medal, was later authorized for all military veterans of the attack.
The second wave consisted of 54 B5Ns, 81 D3As, and 36 A6Ms, commanded by Lieutenant-Commander Shigekazu Shimazaki. This wave and its targets comprised:
The second wave was divided into three groups. One was tasked to attack Kāneʻohe, the rest Pearl Harbor proper. The separate sections arrived at the attack point almost simultaneously, from several directions.
Ninety minutes after it began, the attack was over. 2,386 Americans died (55 were civilians, most killed by unexploded American anti-aircraft shells landing in civilian areas), a further 1,139 wounded. Eighteen ships were sunk, including five battleships.
Of the American fatalities, nearly half of the total were due to the explosion of USS Arizona\'s forward magazine after it was hit by a modified 40 cm (16in) shell.The wreck has become a memorial to those lost that day, most of whom remain within the ship. She continues to leak small amounts of fuel oil, 65 years after the attack.
Already damaged by a torpedo and on fire forward, Nevada attempted to exit the harbor. She was targeted by many Japanese bombers as she got under way, sustaining more hits from 250 lb (113 kg) bombs as she was deliberately beached to avoid blocking the harbor entrance.
USS California was hit by two bombs and two torpedoes. The crew might have kept her afloat, but were ordered to abandon ship just as they were raising power for the pumps. Burning oil from Arizona and West Virginia drifted down on her, and probably made the situation look worse than it was. The disarmed target ship USS Utah was holed twice by torpedoes. USS West Virginia was hit by seven torpedoes, the seventh tearing away her rudder. USS Oklahoma was hit by four torpedoes, the last two above her belt armor, which caused her to capsize. USS Maryland was hit by two of the converted 40 cm shells, but neither caused serious damage.
Although the Japanese concentrated on battleships (the largest vessels present), they did not ignore other targets. The light cruiser USS Helena was torpedoed, and the concussion from the blast capsized the neighboring minelayer USS Oglala. Two destroyers in dry dock were destroyed when bombs penetrated their fuel bunkers. The leaking fuel caught fire; flooding the dry dock in an effort to fight fire made the burning oil rise, and so the ships were burned out. The light cruiser USS Raleigh was holed by a torpedo. The light cruiser USS Honolulu was damaged but remained in service. The destroyer USS Cassin capsized, and destroyer USS Downes was heavily damaged. The repair vessel USS Vestal, moored alongside Arizona, was heavily damaged and beached. The seaplane tender USS Curtiss was also damaged. USS Shaw was badly damaged when two bombs penetrated her forward magazine.USS Shaw (DD-373).
Of the 402 American aircraft in Hawaii, 188 were destroyed and 159 damaged, 155 of them on the ground. Almost none were actually ready to take off to defend the base. Of 33 PBYs in Hawaii, 24 were destroyed, and six others damaged beyond repair. (The three on patrol returned undamaged.) Friendly fire brought down several U.S. planes on top of that, including some from an inbound flight from USS Enterprise. Japanese attacks on barracks killed additional personnel.
Fifty-five Japanese airmen and nine submariners were killed in the action. Of Japan\'s 414 available planes, 29 were lost during the battle[citation needed] (nine in the first attack wave, 20 in the second),USAAF pilots of the 46th and 47th Pursuit Squadrons, 15th Pursuit Group, claim to have destroyed 10. with another 74 damaged by antiaircraft fire from the ground.
Carrier shokaku.jpg
Zeros preparing to take off from Shokaku for Pearl Harbor |
Jap planes preparing-Pearl Harbor.jpg
Bombers preparing to take off |
USS California sinking-Pearl Harbor.jpg
USS California sinking |
USS SHAW exploding Pearl Harbor Nara 80-G-16871 2.jpg
Destroyer USS Shaw exploding after her forward magazine was detonated |
USS West Virginia;014824.jpg
USS West Virginia took two aerial bombs (one dud) and seven torpedo hits; of the seven at least five were from aircraft and one from a midget submarine |
NARA 28-1277a.gif
B-17 after the attack on Hickam Field. |
PLanes burning-Ford Island-Pearl Harbor.jpg
Hangar in Ford Island burns |
Several Japanese junior officers, including Fuchida and the chief architect of the attack, Captain Minoru Genda, urged Nagumo to carry out a third strike in order to destroy as much of Pearl Harbor\'s fuel storage, maintenance, and dry dock facilities as possible.Gailey 1997, p. 68. Some military historians have suggested the destruction of these oil tanks and repair facilities would have crippled the U.S. Pacific Fleet far more seriously than loss of its battleships. If they had been wiped out, "serious [American] operations in the Pacific would have been postponed for more than a year."Gailey 1997, pp. 97–98. Nagumo, however, decided to forgo a third attack in favor of withdrawal for several reasons:
At a conference aboard Yamato the following morning, Yamamoto initially supported Nagumo\'s decision to withdraw. In retrospect, however, Nagumo\'s decision to spare the vital dockyards, maintenance shops, and oil depots meant the U.S. could respond relatively quickly to Japanese activities in the Pacific. Yamamoto later regretted Nagumo\'s decision and categorically stated it had been a great mistake not to order a third strike.Gailey 1997, p. 98.
USS Pennsylvania, behind the wreckage of the USS Downes and USS Cassin.
Though the attack was notable for its large-scale destruction, the damage was not significant in terms of American fuel storage, maintenance and intelligence capabilities. Had Japan destroyed the American carriers, the U.S. would have sustained significant damage to the Pacific Fleet\'s ability to conduct offensive operations for a year or so (given no diversions from the Atlantic Fleet). As it was, the elimination of the battleships left the U.S. Navy with no choice but to place its faith in aircraft carriers and submarines — the very weapons with which the U.S. Navy halted and eventually reversed the Japanese advance. A major flaw of Japanese strategic thinking was a belief the ultimate Pacific battle would be between battleships of both sides, in keeping with the doctrine of Captain Alfred Mahan. As a result, Yamamoto (and his successors) hoarded battleships for a "decisive battle" that never happened.
Ultimately, targets not on Genda\'s list, such as the Submarine Base and the old Headquarters Building, proved more important than any battleship. It was submarines that immobilized the Imperial Japanese Navy\'s heavy ships and brought Japan\'s economy to a standstill by crippling transportation of oil and raw materials. And in the basement of the old Administration Building was the cryptanalytic unit, HYPO, which contributed significantly to the Midway ambush and the Submarine Force\'s success.
After a systematic search for survivors, formal salvage operations began. Divers from the Navy (shore and tenders), the Naval Shipyard, and civilian contractors (Pacific Bridge, and others) began work on the ships which could be refloated. They patched holes, cleared debris, and pumped water out of ships. The Naval divers worked inside the damaged ships. Within six months, five battleships and two cruisers were patched or refloated so they could be sent to shipyards in Pearl and on the mainland for extensive repair.
Intensive salvage operations continued for another year. The Utah and Arizona were too heavily damaged for salvage and remain where they were sunk.
Divers logged in 20,000 hours under water with zero visibility. They worked in water with heavy oil, dangerous debris, decomposing bodies, and unexploded ordnance. Raymer, E.C: "Descent Into Darkness", Presidio Press, 1996, ISBN:0-89141-580-0 Post Attack Salvage. Retrieved on 2008-02-25.
On March 4, 1942, two Kawanishi H8K "Emily" flying boats bombed Pearl harbor after fueling at French Frigate Shoals. Due to poor visibility, the bombs were off target and did not accomplish any significant damage. The resulting power outage delayed salvage operations temporarily. Raymer, E.C: "Descent Into Darkness", pages 96 - 98. Presidio Press, 1996, ISBN:0-89141-580-0
| FDR Pearl Harbor speech | |
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| "A date which will live in infamy" | |
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