US NAVAL
AIR STATION
PEARL CITY
US NAVY YARD
WaipioPeninsulaEa
st(^) Lo
ch
Signal
tower
M
id
d
le
L
o
c
h
‘A
ie
a^
B
a
y
P
EA
RL
(^) H
AR BO
Fo R
rd
(^) I
sl
an
d
S
o
u
t
h
e
rn
(^)
(^) L
oc
h
Tangier
Utah
Raleigh
Detroit
Nevada
California
Arizona
Oklahoma
Maryland
West
Virginia
Tennessee
Pennsylvania
Curtiss
Vestal
Shaw
Helena
Oglala
Helm
Dobbin
Hull
Nevada
110 THE WIDENING WAR 1942
ROUTE OF THE ATTACK
The Japanese Striking Force, made up of six
aircraft carriers carrying more than 400 aircraft,
14 other ships, and eight oil tankers, left the Kurile
Islands in northern Japan on November 26 and
assembled north of Hawaii. It was supported
by 23 submarines from ports in mainland Japan.
The plan was to launch two waves of air attacks,
targeting not just the vessels in Pearl Harbor
but also oil tanks, dockyards, air and naval bases,
and military barracks across the island. The
first wave of Japanese aircraft was detected
by US radar, which mistook it for the
scheduled arrival of six B-17
bombers from California.
DAY OF RECKONING DECEMBER 7, 1941
US losses at Pearl Harbor were significant, but
could have been far higher. The attack came on
a Sunday morning, a time when most crew were
on shore leave, and when all three carriers in the
US Pacific Fleet were absent: USS Lexington and
Enterprise (and 31 other craft) had left for Midway
and Wake Island, and USS Saratoga was returning
after a refit. Confident of a short, victorious
war, Japan also failed to strike crucial long-term
objectives such as the oil tanks or submarine base.
1
THE FIRST WAVE 7:53–8:50 AM
DECEMBER 7, 1941
The first wave of the Japanese attack consisted of
183 aircraft in three groups. The first group of 40
Nakajima B5N torpedo bombers attacked US
battleships and carriers ringing Ford Island Naval
Air Station. It was followed by a further 59, then 51
Aichi D3A dive-bombers, which targeted the USS
Nevada in a bid to block the channel in the harbor.
A third group of 43 Mitsubishi A6M fighters
attacked the harbor. US command broadcast the
message: “Air raid Pearl Harbor. This is not a drill.”
2
First-wave attacks
Route of USS Nevada
Oil tanks
Submarine base
Tensions between the US and Japan
had been rising since the invasion of
Manchuria in 1931 (see pp.22–23). The
subsequent expansion of Japanese
influence in the region put the US on
alert and prompted it to move its Pacific
Fleet to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, in 1940, as
a deterrent. When Japan took control of
Indochina in mid-1941, the US ceased all
exports to the country, so Japan set its
sights on the oil-rich Dutch East Indies.
The US opened negotiations with Japan
that summer in an attempt to improve
relations, but no agreement was reached.
The Japanese Prime Minister Fumimaro
Konoe resigned on October 16, to be
replaced by a more hawkish military
government under General Hideki Tojo.
Final exchanges between the two sides
proved fruitless, and on December 1,
Japanese Emperor Hirohito approved
a “war against United States, Great
Britain, and Holland.”
Japanese strategists knew that the US
base in Pearl Harbor was vulnerable and
had made plans earlier in the year for a
strike. Success would prevent the Pacific
Fleet from interfering in the Japanese
conquest of the Dutch East Indies and
Malaya and buy time for Japan to
increase its strength in the region. Japan
hoped an attack would undermine
American morale, forcing the US to seek
a compromise peace. When the attack
came, the Americans were unprepared,
but the effect was the opposite of Japan’s
hopes. The US public became united
behind a total war to the finish.
PEARL HARBOR
US president Franklin D. Roosevelt called December 7, 1941, the
day Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, “a date which will live in infamy.”
At the time, US negotiations with Japan were still in progress and
no declaration of war had been made. The attack transformed the
war from a European battle into a worldwide conflict.
Honolulu
Kaimuki
Kahuku Point PACIFIC
OCEAN
Koko Head
Diamond Head
Pearl Harbor
OAHU
Waikane
Laie
Kahuku
Koolau Range
Wahiawa
Waianae
Waimanalo
Waianae Range
Waipahu
Pearl
City
Heeia
‘Ewa
Hauula
Scofeld
Barracks
Wheeler Field
Barbers Point
Hickam
Field
Haleiwa
Kaneohe
Bellows Field
Waialua
First-wave attack 7:53 am
Second-wave attack 8:50 am
Targeted barracks
Targeted air bases
Targeted naval base
Key urban areas
KEY
US_110-111_Pearl_Harbor.indd 110 19/03/19 5:40 PM