PEARL HARBOR

“A date which will live in infamy”ByAndrew Arnold

LOCATION & BACKGROUND

Pearl Harbor is an American naval base which is located off of the southern coast of Honolulu ,Hawaii, which is on the island of Oahu.

Pearl Harbor was previously not allowed to be used by large ships, because it’s waters are extremely shallow, and old ships were to big and bulky to be able to be docked in the harbor.

THE HARBORThis is a picture of Pearl Harbor from the view of a Japanese Plane.

(note, Battleship Row)

PLAN OF ATTACK

The Japanese attack was designed to be a stealthy attack on American ships, particularly aircraft carriers.

The attack was planned by Japanese Admiral Yammamoto, who was also in charge of many Japanese military operations due to his natural skill which he possessed in the area of military skill and planning.

The Actual attack force which the Japanese had was under the command of Admiral Nagumo during the attack.

PLAN OF ATTACK (CONT.)

The Attack was planned, and took place, on December 7th, 1941.

At 6 a.m. the first Japanese attack wave of 83 planes took off The places which the Japanese wanted to hit, were the

American aircraft carriers, which were the primary “tool” which ruled the sea.

The Japanese were so bent on taking these out because these carriers housed American Airplanes which were the most effective means of fighting at sea.

The Japanese were aiming to hit the area on Pearl Harbor known as Battleship Row.

Battleship Row was the area where the line of American Ships were lined up.

This was the route that the Japanese Decided to take, it consisted of high level Bombers, Torpedo Planes, and Dive bombers.

PLAN OF ATTACK (CONT.)

Three prime targets escaped damage, the U.S. Pacific Fleet aircraft carriers, the Lexington, Enterprise and Saratoga. They were not in the port when the attack took place.

Another target, the base fuel tanks also escaped damage.

DECEMBER 7TH 1941This is a photo of the attack, which was taken by a onsite naval photographer.

THE ATTACK

The attack took place on a sunny Sunday morning. A minimal contingent of soldiers were on duty at the time. Most offices on the base were closed and many servicemen were on leave for the weekend. New technology, including the new radar mounted on Opana Point, were in place, manned and functioning at the time of the attack.

The Americans that were at the naval base had actually seen the Japanese planes on radar, but for some reason had thought nothing of it.

THE ATTACK

Pearl Harbor Naval Base, Hawaii, was attacked by Japanese torpedo and bomber planes on December 7, 1941, at 7:55 a.m. Hawaii time. The sneak attack sparked outrage in the American populace, news media, government and the world.

At 6 a.m. the first Japanese attack wave of 83 planes took off.

Japanese force consisted of six carriers with 423 planes.

All of the planes on the Japanese ships were fully fueled and armed.

The Japanese planes took off about 90 minutes from Pearl Harbor

Then the planes flew over, they dropped shallow water torpedoes into the harbor, which had to be specially designed because of the shallowness of the harbor.

THE ATTACK

U.S. officials had been aware that an attack by Japan was probable, but did not know the time or place it would occur.

Pearl Harbor was not in the state of high alert when the attack started, Anti-Aircraft guns were left unmanned.

The Americans were taken completely by surprise.

The main targets for the first wave was the airfield and battleships.

The second wave targets were other ships and shipyard facilities.

The air raid lasted until about 9:45 a.m.

STATISTICS

Japanese force consisted of six carriers with 423 planes

Casualties included 2,335 servicemen and 68 civilians (Approx.)

1178 people were wounded The Japanese fleet had 30 ships.

PLANES USED/SHIPS SUNK

AMERICA JAPAN

The two main ships that were hit were the USS Arizona, and the USS Oklahoma.

Mitsubishi A6M Zero-Sen The Mitsubishi A6M Zero-Sen, or simply the

Mitsubishi, were single-seat fighters used in the first attack wave on Pearl Harbor's ships. The plane was also used as a bomber, with a 132-pound bomb under each wing. At the time of its creation, the Mitsubishi was considered the best of all Japanese aircraft

Aichi D3A The Aichi D3A airplanes were dive bombers

and the principal planes of the Pearl Harbor attack. The Aichi aircraft manufacturing company first conceived this airplane model in 1936, and the Allies referred to the model as "Val." The plane carried one 550-pound bomb under the fuselage or two 130-pound bombs under each wing. The plane carried both a pilot and a gunner.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VqQAf74fsE

FDR’S WORDS