Pearl Harbor

3 Pages 654 Words

Pearl Harbor My report is about the attack on Pearl Harbor. In this report I will explain what happened and why it happened. So you know, Pearl Harbor is located on Oahu island, Hawaii. Pearl Harbor was the operating base of the U.S. Pacific Fleet. The Japanese pulled a surprise attack on the U.S. on December 7, 1941 at 7:50 A.M. during the beginning of World War II. On November 26 a powerful Japanese task force, under the command of vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo, left the Kuril Islands; on December 2 it received a coded message issuing the attack order. The undetected Japanese force arrived off the Hawaiian Islands on the morning of December 7. In two successive waves more than 350 Japanese bombers, torpedo planes, and fighters struck. More than 75 U.S. warships(including battleships, cruisers, destroyers, submarines, and auxiliaries) were based at this "Gibraltar of the Pacific." All U.S. aircraft carriers were elsewhere. Observing radio silence, it reached a launching point a!
t 6 AM, December 7. At 7:50 AM, the first wave of Japanese planes struck Pearl Harbor, bombarding airfields and battleships moored at the concrete quays. The U.S. totally taken off guard had to defend themselves in pajamas. They used anti-aircraft guns in an attempt to stop the Japanese. A second wave followed. The surprise attack was over before 10 AM. The results were devastating; 18 U.S. ships were hit, and more than 200 aircraft destroyed or damaged. The battleship Arizona was a total wreck; the West Virginia and California were sunk; and the Nevada was heavily damaged. Approximately 2,400 Americans were killed, 1,300 wounded, and 1,000 missing. Japanese losses were fewer than 100 casualties, 29 planes, and 5 midget submarines. The Japanese totally destroyed the U.S. naval power in the Pacific. The attack was, however, a colossal political and psychological blunder, for it mobilized U.S. p...