Pearl Harbor December 7, 1941

Pearl Harbor...

"I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve." Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto...

On Sunday, December 7th, 1941 the Japanese launched a surprise attack against the U.S. Forces stationed at Pearl Harbor , Hawaii By planning his attack on a Sunday, the Japanese commander Admiral Nagumo, hoped to catch the entire fleet in port. As luck would have it, the Aircraft Carriers and one of the Battleships were not in port. (The USS Enterprise was returning from Wake Island , where it had just delivered some aircraft. The USS Lexington was ferrying aircraft to Midway, and the USS Saratoga and USS Colorado were undergoing repairs in the United States .)

In spite of the latest intelligence reports about the missing aircraft carriers (his most important targets), Admiral Nagumo decided to continue the attack with his force of six carriers and 423 aircraft. At a range of 230 miles north of Oahu , he launched the first wave of a two-wave attack. Beginning at 0600 hours his first wave consisted of 183 fighters and torpedo bombers which st ruck at the fleet in Pearl Harbor and the airfields in Hickam, Kaneohe and Ewa. The second strike, launched at 0715 hours, consisted of 167 aircraft, which again struck at the same targets.


At 0753 hours the first wave consisting of 40 Nakajima B5N2 'Kate' torpedo bombers, 51 Aichi D3A1 'Val' dive bombers, 50 high altitude bombers and 43 Zeros struck airfields and Pearl Harbor Within the next hour, the second wave arrived and continued the attack.

When it was over, the U.S. Losses were:

Casualties
US Army: 218 KIA, 364 WIA.
US Navy: 2,008 KIA, 710 WIA.
US MarineCorp: 109 KIA, 69 WIA.
Civilians: 68 KIA, 35 WIA.

TOTAL: 2,403 KIA, 1,178 WIA.

Battleships
USS Arizona (BB-39) - total loss when a bomb hit her magazine.
USS Oklahoma (BB-37) - Total loss when she capsized and sunk in the harbor.
USS California (BB-4 4) - Sunk at her berth. Later raised and repaired.
USS West Virginia (BB-48) - Sunk at her berth. Later raised and repaired.
USS Nevada - (BB-36) Beached to prevent sinking. Later repaired.
USS Pennsylvania (BB-38) - Light damage.
USS Maryland (BB-46) - Light damage.
USS Tennessee (BB-43) Light damage.
USS Utah (AG-16) - (former battleship used as a target) - Sunk.

Cruisers
USS New Orleans (CA-32) - Light Damage..
USS San Francisco (CA-38) - Light Damage.
USS Detroit (CL-8) - Light Damage.
USS Raleigh (CL-7) - Heavily damaged but repaired.
USS Helena (CL-50) - Light Damage.
USS Honolulu (CL-48) - Light Damage..

Destroyers
USS Downes (DD-375) - Destroyed. Parts salvaged.
USS Cassin - (DD -3 7 2) Destroyed. Parts salvaged.
USS Shaw (DD-373) - Very heavy damage.
USS Helm (DD-388) - Light Damage.

Minelayer
USS Ogala (CM-4) - Sunk but later raised and repaired.

Seaplane Tender
USS Curtiss (AV-4) - Severely damaged but later repaired.

Repair Ship
USS Vestal (AR-4) - Severely damaged but later repaired.

Harbor Tug
USS Sotoyomo (YT-9) - Sunk but later raised and repaired.

Aircraft
188 Aircraft destroyed (92 USN and 92 U.S. Army Air Corps.)

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Pearl
• Harbor
• December
• 1941
• PappyStu
• history

[kyXst]

Terrible mistake, the losses did not reach billions, it reached hundreds of thousands if not millions.

[PappyStu]

@kyXst World War II fatality statistics vary greatly. Estimates of total dead range from 50 million to over 70 million.

[MrCraig1930]

I was too young for WW2, they wouldn't let a 11 year old boy in the Service. I did my time in Korea, I was Army Corp of Engineers with the 89th Division. I remember when this happened, my Father put his WW1 Uniform on and ready to fight. I remember a lot of these from the old Movie News Films at theTheaters. These were sad memories for the Men and Women that lost their lives, and I won't forget the Utah and the Arizona.

[PappyStu]

@MrCraig1930 I had family in both... My service was at the end of Nam up till the early 80s... We can learn much from those generations

[kilgoretex09]

grandfather was aboard uss vestal , some serious americans back then

[PappyStu]

@kilgoretex09 We were fortunate we had them in that time...

[warhawk9566]

@MrSamuelAdams1776 he didnt antagonize them. He put pressure on the japanese because he believed that if they had their supplies cut they would comply with America so they could recieve the supplies they needed

[warhawk9566]

@Mikeybetts His name was Admiral Nagumo, It was Admiral Yamamoto who said that quote. If not out loud he at least wrote it in his journal. The Japanese knew what was at stake thats why they launched the Pearl Harbor attack and thats why they had such specific targets (the whole fleet was to be shot at but the carriers, ship yard and fuel tanks were priority.) They wanted to cripple our fleet before the war started so we couldnt fight back and would no longer be a problem for the Japanese.

[warhawk9566]

@Mikeybetts It's Admiral Nagumo and he didnt say that quote. It was Admiral Yamamoto. Japan knew what they were getting into thats exactly why they launched the Pearl Harbor attack. It was an attempt to cripple the American military before it could even fight back.

[Bella100983]

That is so sad

[thebaked]

churchill , smiled when the island of japan attacked the US.....he stated " the USA is like a boiler if you light it there is no end to its limitations"

[ghanatrip]

@kyXst . 2400 deaths

[Mikeybetts]

the "sleeping giant" saying is a wise saying.

after the defeat of the fleet at pearl harbour, a sleeping giant was awakened, and admiral Yagumo knew this.

three and a half years later, formations of up to 2000 bombers were, almost unapposed, were razing entire japanese cities tot he ground.

this is a lesson from history, know what you are getting into before you make the first strike

[DeeStylistic]

Civilians were killed as a result of American anti-air shells failing to detonate; American forces killed more civilians than the Japanese. Friendly fire also killed several American Air Force (part of the Navy at the time) pilots. The Japanese caught Pearl Harbor with its pants on its ankles. A truly sad and memorable day.

[SlingBlade79]

I'm glad very glad we shipped those medals of Peace back to Tokyo... American style... R.I.P. Col. Doolittle.