Pearl Harbor. Japanese defeat, Soviet victory. Attack on Pearl Harbor (1941). Reference

Side forces Losses Audio, photo, video at Wikimedia Commons

The attack consisted of two air raids, in which 353 aircraft took off from 6 Japanese aircraft carriers. The attack resulted in the sinking of four battleships of the US Navy (two of which were restored and returned to service at the end of the war), four more were damaged. The Japanese also sank or damaged three cruisers, three destroyers, 1 minelayer; destroyed 188-272 aircraft (according to various sources); human casualties - 2403 killed and 1178 wounded. The power station, shipyard, fuel and torpedo depots, piers, and the headquarters building were not damaged by the attack. Japanese losses were light: 29 aircraft, 5 small submarines, along with 64 dead and 1 captured serviceman.

The attack was a preventive measure against the United States, aimed at eliminating the American navy, gaining air supremacy in the Pacific region and subsequent military operations against Burma, Thailand, and the US western possessions in the Pacific Ocean. This goal was only partially achieved, since modern US surface ships - aircraft carriers - were at that time in a different place and were not affected. The affected battleships were of obsolete types, from the First World War. In addition, the importance of battleships as the main striking force of the fleet in the era of aviation dominance was sharply reduced.

On the same day, the United States declared war on Japan, thereby entering the war. Because of the attack, and especially because of its nature, public opinion in America changed dramatically from an isolationist stance in the mid-1930s to direct participation in the war effort. On December 8, 1941, US President Franklin Roosevelt addressed a joint session of both houses of Congress. The President demanded that from December 7, "a day that will go down in history as a symbol of shame", to declare war on Japan. The Congress adopted a corresponding resolution.

Preparing for war

The attack on Pearl Harbor was intended to neutralize the US Pacific Fleet, and therefore protect Japan's conquests in Malaya and the Dutch East Indies, where she sought access to natural resources such as oil and rubber. The possibility of war between Japan and the United States had been considered by both nations since 1921, although tensions began to seriously escalate only from 1931, when Japan invaded Manchuria. Over the next decade, Japan continued to expand its influence in China, leading to all-out war in 1937. Japan went to great lengths to isolate China and achieve sufficient resource independence to achieve victory on the mainland; the conquests in the south were to help this.

Since December 1937, events such as the Japanese attack on the USS Panay and the Nanjing massacre (more than 200,000 dead) sharply worsened public opinion of Japan in the West and increased fear of Japanese expansion, prompting the United States, Britain, and France to provide China with loans for military supplies.

In July 1941, following Japanese expansion into French Indochina following the fall of France, the US stopped oil exports to Japan (due in part to new American restrictions on domestic oil consumption). This in turn prompted the Japanese to begin taking over the oil-rich Dutch East Indies. The Japanese were faced with a choice: either to leave China and lose face, or to seize the sources of raw materials in the European colonies of Southeast Asia.

According to John Coster, a certain role may have been played by the April 1941 Soviet intelligence operation called "Snow", as a result of which, through a very influential employee of the US Treasury Department Harry Dexter White, President Roosevelt was informed about Japan's preparations for war against the United States. In this regard, the idea arose to put pressure on Japan. The United States demanded that Japan immediately stop its aggression in China and withdraw troops from all Chinese territories except Manchukuo, withdraw from the Tripartite Pact with Germany and Italy, and neutralize Manchukuo.

Preliminary planning for an attack on Pearl Harbor to defend an advance into the "Southern Resource Region" (the Japanese term for the Dutch East Indies and Southeast Asia in general) began early in 1941 under the auspices of Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, then commander of the Japanese Combined Fleet. . He received formal planning and preparation for the attack from the General Staff of the Imperial Japanese Navy only after much dispute with the Navy, including a threat to resign. Full-scale planning was carried out in early spring 1941 primarily by Captain Minoru Ganda. Japanese strategists carefully studied the British air attack on the Italian fleet at Taranto in 1940. This was of great use to them in planning the attack on the US Navy at Pearl Harbor.

It would not be superfluous to mention that in 1932 and 1937 the US Navy conducted major exercises during which they practiced strikes by aircraft from aircraft carriers on Pearl Harbor. In both cases, the attacking aircraft were successful. However, the American command did not take the results of these exercises seriously enough, believing that in reality the enemy would not be able to carry out an effective attack on the base. The Japanese, on the contrary, rated the idea as very promising.

Over the next few months, pilots were trained, equipment was adapted, and intelligence was collected. Despite these preparations, the plan of attack was not approved by Emperor Hirohito until November 5, after the third of four imperial conferences called for consideration. Final permission was not given by the emperor until December 1, after most of the Japanese leaders informed him that the Halla Note would "destroy the fruits of the Chinese Incident, threaten Manchukuo, undermine Japanese control of Korea".

By the end of 1941, many observers believed that hostilities between the US and Japan were inevitable. A Gallup poll shortly before the attack on Pearl Harbor found that 52% of Americans expected war with Japan, 27% did not expect war, and 21% had no opinion. While US Pacific bases and installations were put on alert several times, the US military doubted that Pearl Harbor would be the first target. They expected the Philippines to be attacked first. This assumption was due to the threat that air bases throughout the country and the naval base in Manila posed to sea lanes, as well as supplies to Japan from the south. In addition, they mistakenly believed that Japan was unable to carry out more than one major naval operation at the same time.

Pearl Harbor before the attack

Back in mid-1941, Roosevelt wrote to Churchill: “It is possible that I will never declare war, but simply start it. If I asked Congress to declare war, then the disputes on this issue could drag on there for three months.

In early October, two months before the surprise attack, Soviet intelligence officer Richard Sorge informed Moscow that Pearl Harbor would be attacked within 60 days; these data, according to American sources, were brought to the attention of Washington by the Kremlin.

From recently [ When?] declassified documents in America, it became known about the meeting that the German envoy to China Hans Thomsen in mid-November 1941 appointed New York businessman Malcolm Lovell. A German diplomat, aware of the businessman's connections to the White House, told him about the impending Japanese attack. In turn, Lovell immediately reported this to one of the chiefs of American intelligence, William Donovan, who on the same day transmitted the information received personally to the president. The attack on Pearl Harbor was less than three weeks away.

On the evening of December 6, a Japanese note was intercepted and deciphered in Washington - a response to the American ultimatum of November 26. Although the lengthy document did not directly mention the declaration of war, its entire meaning and indication of the exact hour of delivery - 1 p.m. on December 7 spoke for themselves, but no warning was sent to Hawaii, where the entire Pacific Fleet was based. On December 6 at 9:30 pm (Washington time), the Japanese note was delivered to Roosevelt. After reading it, the president remarked: "This is war."

On the southeast coast of Ford is located the so-called "Row of battleships" (Battleship Row) - 6 pairs of massive concrete piles designed for mooring heavy ships. The battleship is moored simultaneously to two piles. Side by side, a second ship can moor to it.

At the time of the Japanese attack, 7 out of 9 battleships of the US Pacific Fleet were in the battleship row.

50 minutes before the attack, the aircraft of the Empire of Japan were discovered by the American SCR-270 radar located in the north of the island, but the Americans considered these aircraft to be their own, so the alarm was not raised.

Japanese aviation

In total, the Japanese aircraft carriers that participated in the attack on Pearl Harbor were based aircraft three types, widely known by the code names given to them in the US Navy: Zero fighters, Kate torpedo bombers and Val dive bombers. Brief characteristics of these aircraft are given in the table.

Type	American name	Speed, km/h	Flight range, km	Armament	Crew	Purpose
Aichi D3A 1, type 99	Val	450	1400	250 kg bomb under the fuselage, two 60 kg bombs under the wings, three 7.7 mm machine guns	2	dive bomber
Mitsubishi A6M 2, model 11	Zero	545	1870	two 20 mm cannons and a 7.7 mm machine gun each, two 60 kg bombs under the wings	1	Fighter
Nakajima B5N 2, type 97 model 12	Kate	360	1100	457 mm torpedo or more than 500 kg bombs or 800 kg bomb, 7.7 mm machine gun	2-3	Torpedo bomber, high-altitude bomber

Aircraft of the first wave

group number	Aircraft carrier	Qty	Planned goals
Armament: 800-kg armor-piercing bomb
1v	"Akagi"	15	Maryland, Tennessee, Zap. Virginia
2c	"Kaga"	14	Arizona, Tennessee, Zap. Virginia
3v	"Soryu"	10	Nevada, Tennessee, Zap. Virginia
4v	"Hiryu"	10	Arizona, California
	TOTAL:	49
Torpedo bombers "Kate" Armament: aircraft torpedo Mk91
1t	"Akagi"	12	"Zap. Virginia, Oklahoma, California
2t	"Kaga"	12	"Zap. Virginia, Oklahoma, Nevada
3t	"Soryu"	8	Utah, Helena, California, Relay
4t	"Hiryu"	8	"Zap. Virginia, Oklahoma, Helena
	TOTAL:	40

1p	"Shokaku"	26	hickam
2p	"Zuikaku"	25	Weller
	TOTAL:	51
Fighters "Zero" Armament: 20 mm cannons and 7 mm machine guns
1i	"Akagi"	9	Hickam, Eva, Fr. Ford
2i	"Kaga"	9	Hickam, oh Ford
3i	"Soryu"	8
4i	"Hiryu"	6	Weller, Eva, aircraft at Cape Barbers
5i	"Shokaku"	6	Kaneohe, Bellows
6i	"Zuikaku"	5	Kaneohe
	TOTAL:	43
	TOTAL in the first wave:	183

Note

Aircraft of the second wave

group number	Aircraft carrier	Qty	Planned goals
High-altitude bombers "Kate" Armament: 250 kg air bomb and 6 60 kg air bombs
1v	"Shokaku"	9	Base of seaplanes about. Ford
2c	"Shokaku"	18	Kaneohe
3v	"Zuikaku"	27	hickam
	TOTAL:	54
Dive bombers "Val" Armament: 250-kg aerial bomb
1p	"Akagi"	18	Tanker "Neosho", about. Ford, Maryland
2p	"Zuikaku"	17	Shipyard of the Navy
3p	"Soryu"	17	Navy shipyard, docks, battleships
4p	"Kaga"	26	Navy shipyard, docks, battleships
	TOTAL:	78
Fighters "Zero" Armament: 20 mm cannon
1i	"Akagi"	9	Hickam Airfield
2i	"Kaga"	9	Airfields Hickam, about. Ford, Weller
3i	"Soryu"	9	Kaneohe airfield
4i	"Hiryu"	8	Kaneohe Airfields, Ballows
	TOTAL:	35
	TOTAL in the second wave:	167

Note. Group numbers are conditional, for designation on the diagrams.

Japanese fleet attack

On November 26, 1941, the strike force of the Japanese Imperial Navy under the command of Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo, on the orders of the fleet commander Isoroku Yamamoto, left the base in Hitokappu Bay (now Kasatka Bay) on Iturup Island (Kuril Islands) and headed for Pearl Harbor. The Japanese connection included six aircraft carriers: Akagi, Kaga, Hiryu, Soryu, Shokaku and Zuikaku, which housed 414 aircraft, including fighters, torpedo bombers and dive bombers. The aircraft carrier escort consisted of 2 battleships, 2 heavy and 1 light cruisers, and 9 destroyers (another 2 destroyers had detached earlier to carry out a separate operation to bombard Midway Atoll). The operation against Oahu also involved 6 submarines, which delivered dwarf submarines to the attack site and later patrolled around the Hawaiian Islands.

The purpose of the attack on Pearl Harbor was to neutralize the US Pacific Fleet in order to ensure freedom of action for the Japanese army and navy in Southeast Asia. This goal was not achieved because modern types ships of the Pacific Fleet - aircraft carriers and submarines - were not affected. Of the 8 American battleships that were parked in Pearl Harbor, mostly obsolete, from the First World War, the Arizona (ammunition exploded) and Oklahoma (rolled over, raised and sent for recycling) were irretrievably lost. Pennsylvania and Maryland received minor damage and returned to service at the end of the month. Tennessee and Nevada received more severe damage and were repaired by February and October 1942, respectively. "California" and "West Virginia" were restored only by 1944.

Losses

As a result of the attack, 4 battleships, 2 destroyers, 1 mine layer were sunk. Another 4 battleships, 3 light cruisers and 1 destroyer were damaged. American aviation losses amounted to 188 aircraft destroyed, another 159 were heavily damaged. 2,403 Americans were killed (of which 1,102 aboard the exploded battleship Arizona) and 1,178 were wounded. The Japanese lost 29 aircraft, and another 74 were damaged. 5 midget submarines were lost due to various reasons. Losses in people amounted to 64 people who died (55 pilots, 9 submariners). Another - Lieutenant Kazuo Sakamaki - was taken prisoner. He was washed ashore after his midget submarine hit a reef.

Event in world culture

Notes

The battleships West Virginia (BB-48) and California (BB-44) were sunk at Pearl Harbor, and subsequently raised and returned to service.
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Barnhart, Michael A. (1987) Japan prepares for total war: the search for economic security, 1919–1941, Cornell University Press, ISBN 978-0-8014-1915-7 ,
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Edwin T. Layton, Roger Pineau, and John Costello (1985), And I Was There: Pearl Harbor and Midway-Breaking the Secrets, New York: Morrow. Layton, Kimmel's Combat Intelligence Officer, says that Douglas MacArthur was the only field commander who had received any substantial amount of Purple intelligence.
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McCollum memo A 1940 memo from a Naval headquarters staff officer to his superiors outlining possible provocations to Japan, which might lead to war (declassified in 1994).
Gordon W Prange, At Dawn We Slept(McGraw-Hill, 1981), Pearl Harbor: The Verdict of History(McGraw-Hill, 1986), and December 7, 1941: The Day the Japanese Attacked Pearl Harbor(McGraw-Hill, 1988). This monumental trilogy, written with collaborators Donald M. Goldstein and Katherine V. Dillon, is considered the authoritative work on the subject.
Larry Kimmett and Margaret Regis, The Attack on Pearl Harbor: An Illustrated History(NavPublishing, 2004). Using maps, photos, unique illustrations, and an animated CD, this book provides a detailed overview of the surprise attack that brought the United States into World War II.
walter Lord, Day of Infamy(Henry Holt, 1957) is a very readable, and entirely anecdotal, re-telling of the day's events.
W. J. Holmes, Double-Edged Secrets: U.S. Naval Intelligence Operations in the Pacific During World War II(Naval Institute, 1979) contains some important material, such as Holmes" argument that, had the U.S. Navy been warned of the attack and put to sea, it would have likely resulted in an even greater disaster.
Michael V Gannon, Pearl Harbor Betrayed(Henry Holt, 2001) is a recent examination of the issues surrounding the surprise of the attack.
Frederick D Parker, Pearl Harbor Revisited: United States Navy Communications Intelligence 1924–1941(Center for Cryptologic History, 1994) contains a detailed description of what the Navy knew from intercepted and decrypted Japan"s communications prior to Pearl.
Henry C. Clausen and Bruce Lee, Pearl Harbor: Final Judgment, (HarperCollins, 2001), an account of the secret "Clausen Inquiry" carried out late in the war by order of Congress to Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson.
Robert A Theobald, Final Secret of Pearl Harbor(Devin-Adair Pub, 1954) 0-425-09040-X (186 KB) (indefinite) . Retrieved January 5, 2017. Archived from the original on July 13, 2007. (Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments) contains a passage regarding the Yarnell attack, as well as reference citations.
Roberta Wohlstetter, Pearl Harbor: Warning and Decision, (Stanford University Press: 1962). The most cited scholarly work on the intelligence failure at Pearl Harbor. Her introduction and analysis of the concept of "noise" persists in understanding intelligence failures.
- Roberta Wohlstetter, "Cuba and Pearl Harbor: Hindsight and Foresight." Foreign Affairs 43.4 (1965): 691-707. online
John Hughes-Wilson, Military Intelligence Blunders and Cover-Ups. Robinson, 1999 (revised 2004). Contains a brief but insightful chapter on the particular intelligence failures, and a broader overview of what causes them.
Douglas T. Shinsato and Tadanori Urabe, "For That One Day: The Memoirs of Mitsuo Fuchida, Commander of the Attack on Pearl Harbor". (eXperience: 2011) Resurrection-Salvaging the Battle Fleet at Pearl Harbor ISBN. U.S. Naval Institute Press. 2003. Highly readable and thoroughly researched account of the aftermath of the attack and the salvage efforts from December 8, 1941 through early 1944.
Takeo, Iguchi, Demystifying Pearl Harbor: A New Perspective From Japan, I-House Press, 2010, ASIN: B003RJ1AZA.
Haynok, Robert J. How the Japanese Did It. - United States Naval Institute, 2009. - Vol. 23.
Melber, Takuma, Pearl Harbour. Japans Angriff und der Kriegseintritt der USA. C.H. Beck, Munich 2016, . A concise introduction with a good focus oo what came before the attack and on the Japanese perspective.
Moorhead, John J. 1942 "Surgical Experience at Pearl Harbor", The Journal of the American Medical Association. An overview of different surgical procedures at the hospital at the scene of the event.

It contains many bright pages that were of decisive importance for the course of hostilities and became the subject of detailed study. Japan's attack on the American naval base at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 can rightly be called one of these events, which became a landmark in history and determined the subsequent course of the military campaign in the Pacific.

Background of the attack

Japan's combined attack on the American navy directly at its base of deployment was the result of long and painstaking work by the Imperial General Staff. There are many answers to the question why the American naval base became the target of the attack. The main reason for the surprise attack lies in the desire of the Japanese to disable the American Pacific Fleet with one powerful blow. A successful attack would allow the Japanese armed forces to freely pursue subsequent expansion in the Asia-Pacific theater.

After the fall of France, Japan seized the opportunity and occupied Southern Indochina. In response to Japanese expansion, the United States and Great Britain imposed an oil embargo on oil exports to the Land of the Rising Sun. These economic sanctions seriously undermined the economic and industrial potential of Japan. The navy of this country was entirely dependent on oil exports, and such measures by America and their European allies hit the combat capability of the Japanese Empire hard. The Japanese began to feverishly look for a way out of the situation. The decision came by itself. The Japanese fleet, together with the army, was to capture the oil-rich islands of the Indonesian archipelago. Naturally, such a step could only be taken taking into account the probable reaction of the Americans to such actions. The presence of the American battle fleet at Pearl Harbor threatened Japanese rear communications.

An option was adopted that initially provided for the destruction of a potential threat in the form of sea power USA in the Pacific. Further, with a favorable result, it was possible to proceed to the systematic occupation of the islands of the Dutch Indies. The Imperial Headquarters wanted to seize the initiative in order to further dictate its strategy for war and peace in this theater of operations.

It was possible to take the Americans out of the game and deprive them of the navy either as a result of a general naval battle or by a sudden strike. This position was held by the General Staff of the Land of the Rising Sun, however, the naval command considered its own naval forces not strong enough to achieve success in direct combat with the American battle fleet. Preference was given to inflicting a preventive strike on American forces directly at the fleet's deployment sites. In the spring of 1941, the entire US Pacific Fleet was relocated to the Hawaiian Islands, thereby taking control of the entire central Pacific, so Japan attacked Pearl Harbor not by chance. This was preceded by a number of military and political events that directly or indirectly influenced the balance of power in this region of the globe.

Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor

The main task that was set before the naval command of the Imperial Navy was to deliver a combined attack on the US Navy's parking lot in the Pacific Ocean in Pearl Harbor Bay. It was planned to attack American ships in two ways:

a blow from under the water, using mini-submarines for this;
blow naval aviation based on aircraft carriers.

The main goal of the Japanese military was American aircraft carriers. The submarine forces were entrusted with the task of secretly sneaking into the inner roadstead of the American base and being able to hit the most important American ships from a military point of view with torpedoes. Aviation was originally supposed to inflict a diversionary maneuver, attacking the air defense forces of the naval base. If necessary, the emphasis could shift to the actions of naval aviation, which was supposed to damage enemy ships at anchorages. The strike was supposed not only to reduce the combat effectiveness of the American fleet, but also to block the exit from the base for a long time, thereby depriving the Americans of the opportunity to bring their fleet into operational space. In order to understand the importance of the decision made by the Japanese and why the base in the Hawaiian Islands was chosen, it is enough to evaluate the location of the Pearl Harbor naval base on the map.

The forces of the parties before the start of the battle

A prominent role in the preparation of the attack on Pearl Harbor is assigned to Admiral Yamamoto, who built the entire Pacific strategy of the Imperial Navy. It was Yamamoto who was committed to the idea that the Japanese should attack first. The Japanese admiral inspired the idea of a surprise attack by US Navy air forces on his main base. Admiral Nagumo was appointed the executor and commander of the operation. According to the estimates of the Japanese military, the main force that was able to complete the tasks was the Japanese aircraft carriers. To participate in the operation, it was planned to use all 6 aircraft carriers available at that time in the Imperial Navy.

The operation involved the best pilots, collected from all aviation units of the Navy. The number of aircraft assigned to participate in the raid was a huge figure - almost 400 units. The strike formations of naval aviation included Aichi D3A1 dive bombers (type "99"), Nakajima B5N2 torpedo bombers (type "97"). Japanese fighters Mitsubishi A6M2 (type "0"), known throughout the world as "Zero", were supposed to cover the attacking aircraft.

The naval component of the future operation consisted of cover ships and 30 submarines. Five of these submarines were miniature mini-submarines, operated by a crew of 2-3 people. The boats were supposed to be delivered to the place of attack by Japanese destroyers, after which the underwater vehicles had to independently penetrate the bay.

A large role in the success of the operation was assigned to the secrecy regime. For a strike force, a bypass route was laid to the place of the operation. Before the first planes took off from the decks of Japanese aircraft carriers, the Japanese squadron traveled more than one thousand miles. For all 10 days of the campaign, the Americans did not manage to find such a large formation of ships in the ocean, and they completely lost sight of the Japanese. Japanese aircraft carriers covered two battlecruisers at sea, two heavy cruisers and one light cruiser. The escort of the formation was provided by 9 destroyers.

The command of the US Pacific Fleet, Admiral Kimmel and the high command up to the Committee of the Chiefs of Staff were completely unaware of the impending attack. At that time, all the main forces of the Pacific Fleet were in Pearl Harbor, including:

8 battleships;
2 heavy cruisers;
6 light cruisers;
30 destroyers and destroyers;
5 submarines of various classes.

Air cover for the base was carried out by almost 400 aircraft.

With such a large and powerful combination of sea and air forces, the American command did not even imagine the possibility of attacking the base from the sea. The absence of aircraft carriers at the base saved the Americans from catastrophic consequences and complete defeat. Three of the aircraft carriers in the fleet - "Saratoga", "Lexington" and "Enterprise" were at sea, who were being repaired on the US West Coast. Information about how many aircraft carriers are in the harbor of Pearl Harbor, the Japanese missed. The battle took place mainly between American ships, the air defense forces of the naval base and Japanese naval aviation.

Launch of the attack on Pearl Harbor

The coded order received by Admiral Nagumo containing the phrase "Climb Mount Niitaka" meant that the attack on the Pacific Fleet's naval base Pearl Harbor was to take place on December 7th. This date became a landmark, determining the entire further course of the Second World War.

The Japanese ships were 230 miles north of Oahu when the first wave took off. The main striking force was 40 torpedo bombers, armed with torpedoes capable of hitting enemy ships in shallow water. Together with the torpedo bombers, another 49 aircraft were lifted into the air, each of which was armed with one 800 kg torpedo

As support for the torpedo bombers, 51 dive bombers equipped with 250 kg bombs took off with them. Cover was provided by 43 Zero fighters.

This whole air armada appeared over the island of Oahu at 7-50. Five minutes later, the first explosions were heard in the harbor of the naval base. At 08:00, Admiral Kimmel transmitted an emergency message in clear text to all ship commanders, commanders of the Asiatic and Atlantic fleets: "Air attack on ships is not an exercise." The surprise effect desired by the Japanese was achieved, although even on the way to the main base of the American fleet, Japanese aircraft carriers were noticed by American warships.

The American ships were concentrated in the small enclosed space of the inner raid. Battleships lined up as in a parade, one after another. Cruisers and destroyers stood huddled against each other at the quay wall. Large crowding of ships, the absence of half the crew on many ships and early time attacks turned the battle into a full-scale massacre. Japanese pilots went on the attack as in exercises, hitting American ships with torpedoes and bombs. Those ships that managed to avoid being hit by torpedoes tried to leave the harbor so as not to die in the inner roadstead. The main fighting force of the American Pacific Fleet, the battleships Oklahoma, California, West Virginia and Arizona were sunk. The battleships Tennessee and Nevada, which the Americans had to run aground when leaving Pearl Harbor Bay, were badly damaged.

In addition to the battle fleet, the Americans lost 4 destroyers and one hospital ship. Two cruisers received heavy damage. During the first attack, the Japanese pilots managed to paralyze the air defense of the American base, destroying 188 aircraft on the ground. Only the second wave of Japanese aircraft, which arrived to finish off the remnants of the defeated fleet, ran into organized resistance from American pilots.

The result of the attack on Pearl Harbor

As a result, the battle ended with the almost complete destruction of most of the battleships of the Pacific Fleet and severe damage to other warships. On water and on land, during the surprise attack by Japan, the Americans lost 2,403 people. Almost a third of all the dead were the crew of the fallen battleship Arizona. Today, a memorial in Pearl Harbor Bay, erected at the site of the death of the Arizona, reminds of the past tragedy. After the Japanese attack, which cost the Japanese fleet 29 aircraft shot down and four mini-submarines sunk, the American fleet was forced to go on the defensive in the entire Pacific maritime theater for six months.

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Side forces Losses Audio, photo, video at Wikimedia Commons

Pearl Harbor attack("Pearl Harbor") or, according to Japanese sources, Hawaiian operation- a sudden combined attack by the Japanese carrier-based aviation of the aircraft carrier formation of Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo and Japanese midget submarines, delivered to the site of the attack by submarines of the Japanese Imperial Navy, on the American naval and air bases located in the vicinity of Pearl Harbor on the island of Oahu (Hawaiian Islands), which occurred on Sunday morning December 7, 1941.

The attack consisted of two air raids, in which 353 aircraft took off from 6 Japanese aircraft carriers. The result of the attack was the sinking of four battleships of the US Navy (two of which were restored and returned to service at the end of the war), four more were damaged. The Japanese also sank or damaged three cruisers, three destroyers, 1 minelayer; destroyed 188-272 aircraft (according to various sources); human casualties - 2403 killed and 1178 wounded. The power station, shipyard, fuel and torpedo depots, piers, and the headquarters building were not damaged by the attack. Japanese losses were small: 29 aircraft, 5 small submarines, along with 64 dead and 1 captured military personnel.

The attack was a preventive measure against the United States, aimed at eliminating the American navy, gaining air supremacy in the Pacific region and subsequent military operations against Burma, Thailand, and the US western possessions in the Pacific Ocean. This goal was achieved only partially, since modern US surface ships - aircraft carriers - were at that time in a different place and were not affected. The affected battleships were of obsolete types, from the First World War. In addition, the importance of battleships as the main striking force of the fleet in the era of aviation dominance was sharply reduced.

On the same day, the United States declared war on Japan, thus entering the war. Because of the attack, and especially because of its nature, public opinion in America changed dramatically from an isolationist stance in the mid-1930s to direct participation in the war effort. On December 8, 1941, US President Franklin Roosevelt addressed a joint session of both houses of Congress. The President demanded that from December 7, "a day that will go down in history as a symbol of shame", to declare war on Japan. The Congress adopted a corresponding resolution.

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Preparing for war

The attack on Pearl Harbor was intended to neutralize the US Pacific Fleet, and therefore protect Japan's conquests in Malaya and the Dutch East Indies, where she sought access to natural resources such as oil and rubber. The possibility of war between Japan and the United States had been considered by both nations since 1921, although tensions began to seriously increase only from 1931, when the Japanese invasion of Manchuria took place. Over the next decade, Japan continued to expand its influence in China, leading to a full-scale war in 1937. Japan went to great lengths to isolate China and achieve sufficient resource independence to achieve victory on the mainland; the conquests in the south were to help this.

Since December 1937, events such as the Japanese attack on the USS Panay and the massacre at Nanjing (more than 200,000 dead) sharply worsened public opinion of Japan in the West and increased the fear of Japanese expansion, prompting the United States, Britain, and France to provide China with loans for military supplies.

In July 1941, following Japanese expansion into French Indochina following the fall of France, the US stopped oil exports to Japan (due in part to new American restrictions on domestic oil consumption). This, in turn, prompted the Japanese to begin capturing the Dutch East Indies, which was rich in oil. The Japanese were faced with a choice: either to leave China and lose face, or to seize the sources of raw materials in the European colonies of Southeast Asia.

Preliminary planning for an attack on Pearl Harbor to defend an advance into the "Southern Resource Region" (Japanese for the Dutch East Indies and Southeast Asia in general) began early in 1941 under the auspices of Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, then commander of the Japanese Combined Fleet. . He received formal planning and preparation for the attack from the General Staff of the Imperial Japanese Navy only after long disputes with the Navy, including a threat to resign. Full-scale planning was carried out in the early spring of 1941 primarily by Captain Minoru Ganda. Japanese strategists carefully studied the British air attack on the Italian fleet at Taranto in 1940. This was of great use to them in planning the attack on the US Navy at Pearl Harbor.

Over the next few months, pilots were trained, equipment was adapted, and intelligence was collected. Despite these preparations, the plan of attack was not approved by Emperor Hirohito until November 5, after the third of four imperial conferences called for consideration. Final permission was not given by the emperor until December 1, after most of the Japanese leaders informed him that "Nota Halla" would "destroy the fruits of the Chinese incident, threaten Manchukuo, undermine Japanese control of Korea".

Pearl Harbor before the attack

From documents recently declassified in America, it became known about the meeting that the German envoy to China, Hans Thomsen, appointed in mid-November 1941 to New York businessman Malcolm Lovell. A German diplomat, aware of the businessman's connections to the White House, told him about the impending Japanese attack. In turn, Lovell immediately informed one of the chiefs of American intelligence, William Donovan, who on the same day transmitted the information received personally to the president. The attack on Pearl Harbor was less than three weeks away.

At the time of the Japanese attack, 7 out of 9 battleships of the US Pacific Fleet were in the battleship row.

Japanese aviation

In total, the Japanese aircraft carriers that participated in the attack on Pearl Harbor were based on three types of aircraft, widely known by the code names given to them in the US Navy: Zero fighters, Kate torpedo bombers and Val dive bombers. Brief characteristics of these aircraft are given in the table.

Type	American name	Speed, km/h	Flight range, km	Armament	Crew	Purpose
Aichi D3A 1, type 99	Val	450	1400	250 kg bomb under the fuselage, two 60 kg bombs under the wings, three 7.7 mm machine guns	2	dive bomber
Mitsubishi A6M 2, model 11	Zero	545	1870	two 20 mm cannons and a 7.7 mm machine gun each, two 60 kg bombs under the wings	1	Fighter
Nakajima B5N 2, type 97 model 12	Kate	360	1100	457 mm torpedo or more than 500 kg bombs or 800 kg bomb, 7.7 mm machine gun	2-3	Torpedo bomber, high-altitude bomber

Aircraft of the first wave

group number	Aircraft carrier	Qty	Planned goals
Armament: 800-kg armor-piercing bomb
1v	"Akagi"	15	Maryland, Tennessee, Zap. Virginia
2c	"Kaga"	14	Arizona, Tennessee, Zap. Virginia
3v	"Soryu"	10	Nevada, Tennessee, Zap. Virginia
4v	"Hiryu"	10	Arizona, California
	TOTAL:	49
Torpedo bombers "Kate" Armament: aircraft torpedo Mk91
1t	"Akagi"	12	"Zap. Virginia, Oklahoma, California
2t	"Kaga"	12	"Zap. Virginia, Oklahoma, Nevada
3t	"Soryu"	8	Utah, Helena, California, Relay
4t	"Hiryu"	8	"Zap. Virginia, Oklahoma, Helena
	TOTAL:	40

1p	"Shokaku"	26	hickam
2p	"Zuikaku"	25	Weller
	TOTAL:	51
Fighters "Zero" Armament: 20 mm cannon and 7 mm machine guns
1i	"Akagi"	9	Hickam, Eva, Fr. Ford
2i	"Kaga"	9	Hickam, oh Ford
3i	"Soryu"	8
4i	"Hiryu"	6	Weller, Eva, aircraft at Cape Barbers
5i	"Shokaku"	6	Kaneohe, Bellows
6i	"Zuikaku"	5	Kaneohe
	TOTAL:	43
	TOTAL in the first wave:	183

Note

Aircraft of the second wave

group number	Aircraft carrier	Qty	Planned goals
High-altitude bombers "Kate" Armament: 250 kg air bomb and 6 60 kg air bombs
1v	"Shokaku"	9	Base of seaplanes about. Ford
2c	"Shokaku"	18	Kaneohe
3v	"Zuikaku"	27	hickam
	TOTAL:	54
Dive bombers "Val" Armament: 250-kg aerial bomb
1p	"Akagi"	18	Tanker "Neosho", about. Ford, Maryland
2p	"Zuikaku"	17	Shipyard of the Navy
3p	"Soryu"	17	Navy shipyard, docks, battleships
4p	"Kaga"	26	Navy shipyard, docks, battleships
	TOTAL:	78
Fighters "Zero" Armament: 20 mm cannon
1i	"Akagi"	9	Hickam Airfield
2i	"Kaga"	9	Airfields Hickam, about. Ford, Weller
3i	"Soryu"	9	Kaneohe airfield
4i	"Hiryu"	8	Kaneohe Airfields, Ballows
	TOTAL:	35
	TOTAL in the second wave:	167

Note. Group numbers are conditional, for designation on the diagrams.

Japanese fleet attack

The purpose of the attack on Pearl Harbor was to neutralize the US Pacific Fleet in order to ensure freedom of action for the Japanese army and navy in Southeast Asia. This goal was not achieved, since the modern types of ships of the Pacific Fleet - aircraft carriers and submarines - were not affected. Of the 8 American battleships that were parked in Pearl Harbor, mostly obsolete, from the First World War, the Arizona (ammunition exploded) and Oklahoma (rolled over, raised and sent for disposal) were irretrievably lost. Pennsylvania and Maryland received minor damage and returned to service at the end of the month. Tennessee and Nevada received more severe damage and were repaired by February and October 1942, respectively. "California" and "West Virginia" were restored only by 1944.

On the morning of December 7, aircraft from Japanese aircraft carriers attacked airfields on the island of Oahu and ships anchored in Pearl Harbor. The most convenient moment for the attack was chosen - it was Sunday, some of the teams and personnel of the coastal defense batteries were on leave. Of the 32 coastal defense batteries, only 8 opened fire on the attackers, of which 4 were quickly suppressed. As a result of the attack, 4 battleships, 2 destroyers, 1 mine layer were sunk. Another 4 battleships, 3 light cruisers and 1 destroyer were damaged. American aviation losses amounted to 188 aircraft destroyed, another 159 were heavily damaged. 2,403 Americans were killed (of which 1,102 aboard the exploded battleship Arizona) and 1,178 were wounded. The Japanese lost 29 aircraft, and another 74 were damaged. 5 midget submarines were lost due to various reasons. Losses in people amounted to 64 people who died (55 pilots, 9 submariners). Another one - Lieutenant Kazuo Sakamaki - was taken prisoner. He was washed ashore after his midget submarine hit a reef.

Notes

The battleships West Virginia (BB-48) and California (BB-44) were sunk at Pearl Harbor, and subsequently raised and returned to service.
, p. 288
Barnhart, Michael A. (1987) Japan prepares for total war: the search for economic security, 1919–1941, Cornell University Press, ISBN 978-0-8014-1915-7 ,
Werner Gruhl (2007). Imperial Japan's World War Two, 1931-1945. Transaction Publishers. p.39. ISBN 978-0-7658-0352-8
"Document text" , Peace and War, United States Foreign Policy 1931–1941, Washington D.C.: United States Government Printing Office, 1943 , . Retrieved December 8, 2007.
Peattie, Mark R. & Evans, David C. (1997), Kaigun: Strategy, Tactics, and Technology in the Imperial Japanese Navy, Naval Institute Press, ISBN 0-87021-192-7 ,

A row of battleships ("A row of battleships" are concrete piles to which heavy ships moored side to side) at Pearl Harbor. From left to right: battleships USS West Virginia, USS Tennessee (damaged) and USS Arizona (sunk).
The attack on Pearl Harbor (Pearl Bay) or, according to Japanese sources, the Hawaiian operation is a sudden combined attack by the Japanese carrier-based aircraft of the aircraft carrier formation of Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo and Japanese midget submarines delivered to the site of the attack by submarines of the Japanese Imperial Navy on the American military naval and air bases located in the vicinity of Pearl Harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, occurred on Sunday morning December 7, 1941.

As a result of the attack on the naval base of Pearl Harbor, the United States was forced to declare war on Japan and enter World War II. The attack was a preventive measure against the United States, aimed at eliminating the American navy, gaining air supremacy in the Pacific region and subsequent military operations against Burma, Thailand, and the US western possessions in the Pacific Ocean. The attack consisted of two air raids, in which 353 aircraft took off from 6 Japanese aircraft carriers. The attack on Pearl Harbor was the main reason for the US entry into World War II. Because of the attack, and especially because of its nature, public opinion in America changed dramatically from an isolationist stance in the mid-1930s to direct participation in the war effort. On December 8, 1941, US President Franklin Roosevelt addressed a joint session of both houses of Congress. The President demanded from December 7, from "the day that will go down in history as a symbol of shame", to declare war on Japan. The Congress adopted a corresponding resolution.

Model of the US Navy base at Pearl Harbor, built in Japan in 1941 when planning an operation to attack this base. The location of the ship models extremely accurately reproduces their real place in the "line of battleships".

background

After the First World War, the Pacific Ocean became the scene of contradictions between two strong maritime states - the USA and Japan. The United States, rapidly advancing to the position of a leading world power, sought to establish control over this strategically important region. Japan was striving for the same goal, experiencing serious difficulties in providing strategic materials and considering itself deprived of colonies in Southeast Asia. The contradictions were bound to turn into a military clash, but this was hampered by the isolationist and anti-war sentiments that dominated American public opinion. Only a strong psychological shock could destroy these moods, which did not take long to wait. The introduction by the United States of economic sanctions against Japan, which included an embargo on the supply of petroleum products, made war inevitable. Japan was faced with a choice - to suffocate in the ring of economic blockade or die with honor, trying to get the resources it needs in battle. The top Japanese generals understood that for an unconditional victory over the United States, it was necessary to defeat the American Pacific Fleet, land troops on the US west coast and reach Washington with battles, which, given the ratio of the economic and military potentials of the two countries, was completely unrealistic. Forced under pressure from the political elite to enter the war, they relied on the only chance they had - to inflict unacceptable damage on the United States with one powerful blow and force them to sign peace on terms favorable to Japan.

Pearl Harbor before the attack

The main events of December 7, 1941 unfolded around Fr. Ford Island, a small island in the center of the East Loch of Pearl Harbor. On the island there was an airfield for the Navy, and around there were parking lots of ships. On the southeast coast of Ford is located the so-called "Row of battleships" (Battleship Row) - 6 pairs of massive concrete piles designed for mooring heavy ships. The battleship is moored simultaneously to two piles. Side by side, a second ship can moor to it.

View of Pearl Harbor harbor and a number of battleships during the Japanese attack
By December 7, there were 93 ships and support vessels at Pearl Harbor. Among them are 8 battleships, 8 cruisers, 29 destroyers, 5 submarines, 9 minelayers and 10 US Navy minesweepers. Air Force consisted of 394 aircraft, air defense was provided by 294 anti-aircraft guns. The garrison of the base consisted of 42,959 people. The ships in the harbor and the planes at the airfield were crowded, they were a convenient target for attack. air defense the base was not ready to repel attacks. Most of the anti-aircraft guns were not manned, the ammunition was under lock and key.

Japanese aircraft carriers heading for Pearl Harbor. The photo shows the flight deck of the Zuikaku aircraft carrier in its bow, twin installations of universal 127-mm type 89 guns. The Kaga aircraft carrier (closer) and the Akagi aircraft carrier (farther) are visible ahead. The differences between the aircraft carriers of the 1st division are clearly visible; at the Akagi, the superstructure is located on the port side.

Story

To attack Pearl Harbor, the Japanese command allocated an aircraft carrier formation under the command of Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo, consisting of 23 ships and 8 tankers. The formation consisted of a strike group, which consisted of six aircraft carriers: Akagi, Hiryu, Kaga, Shokaku, Soryu and Zuikaku (1st, 2nd and 5th divisions of aircraft carriers), Groups cover (2nd detachment of the 3rd battleship division), two heavy cruisers (8th cruiser division), one light cruiser and nine destroyers (1st destroyer squadron), a forward detachment of three submarines and a supply detachment from eight tankers. (Futida M., Okumiya M. Battle at Midway Atoll. Lane from English. M., 1958. S. 52.) The aviation group of the compound consisted of a total of 353 aircraft.

The operation, which was carefully planned and prepared, was led by the commander of the combined Japanese fleet, Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto. Special meaning was given to the achievement of surprise attacks. On November 22, 1941, the task force gathered in the strictest secrecy in Hitokappu Bay (Kuril Islands) and from here, observing radio silence, on November 26 headed for Pearl Harbor. The transition took place along the longest (6300 km) route, which was distinguished by frequent stormy weather, but the least visited by ships. In order to disguise, a false radio exchange was made, which simulated the presence of all large Japanese ships in the Inland Sea of Japan. (Soviet military encyclopedia. V.6. S. 295.)

Briefing on the deck of the aircraft carrier "Kaga" before the raid on Pearl Harbor
However, for the American government, the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor was not so unexpected. The Americans deciphered the Japanese codes and read all Japanese messages for several months. The warning about the inevitability of war was sent on time - November 27, 1941. The Americans received a clear warning about Pearl Harbor at the last moment, on the morning of December 7, but the order to increase vigilance, sent through a commercial line, reached Pearl Harbor only 22 minutes before the start of the Japanese attack, and was transferred to the liaison only at 10 hours 45 minutes when it was all over. (See: History of the Pacific War. T.Z. M., 1958. S. 264; World War II: Two Views. S. 465.)

In the pre-dawn darkness of December 7, Vice Admiral Nagumo's aircraft carriers reached the lift point and were 200 miles from Pearl Harbor. On the night of December 7, 2 Japanese destroyers fired on about. Midway, and at Pearl Harbor, launched 5 Japanese midget submarines began to operate. Two of them were destroyed by American patrol forces.

At 0600 on December 7, 183 aircraft of the first wave took off from the aircraft carriers and headed for the target. There were 49 attack aircraft - bombers of the "97" type, each of which carried an 800-kilogram armor-piercing bomb, 40 attack aircraft-torpedo bombers with a torpedo suspended under the fuselage, 51 dive bombers of the "99" type, each with a 250-kilogram bomb. The covering force consisted of three groups of fighters, numbering a total of 43 vehicles. (Futida M., Okumiya M., op. cit. p. 54.)

First plane ready to take off from USS Shokaku at Pearl Harbor
The sky over Pearl Harbor was clear. At 7 hours 55 minutes Japanese aircraft attacked all large ships and aircraft at the airfield. There was none in the air American fighter, and on the ground - not a single gun flash. As a result of the Japanese attack, which lasted about an hour, 3 battleships were sunk and a large number of aircraft were destroyed. Having finished bombing, the bombers headed for their aircraft carriers. The Japanese lost 9 aircraft.

The destroyed Naval Air Station at Pearl Harbor
Aircraft of the second wave (167 aircraft) took off from aircraft carriers at 07:15. In the second wave, there were 54 attack aircraft-bombers of the "97" type, 78 dive bombers "99" and 35 destroyers, which covered the actions of the bombers. The second attack by Japanese aircraft met stronger resistance from the Americans. By 0800, the planes returned to the aircraft carriers. Of all the aircraft involved in the air raid, the Japanese lost 29 (9 fighters, 15 dive bombers and 5 torpedo bombers). Losses in manpower amounted to a total of 55 officers and enlisted men. In addition, the Americans sank one submarine and 5 midget submarines, which proved to be ineffective.

The throw of the battleship "Nevada" inside the harbor during the attack on Pearl Harbor. On this day, she became the only American battleship that managed to move and tried to get out of the bay. However, due to the threat of sinking by the Japanese in the fairway, the Nevada was ordered to throw itself ashore. In total, during the attack on Pearl Harbor, the battleship Nevada was hit by 1 air torpedo and 2-3 air bombs, after which it ran aground.

Japanese aviation

In total, three types of aircraft were based on the Japanese aircraft carriers participating in the attack on Pearl Harbor, widely known by the code names given to them in the US Navy: Zero fighters, Kate torpedo bombers and Val dive bombers. Brief characteristics of these aircraft are given in the table:

Japanese A6M Zero fighters before taking off to attack the American base at Pearl Harbor on the deck of the Akagi aircraft carrier. The photo was taken a few minutes before departure.

Aircraft of the first wave

Group numbers are conditional, for designation on the diagrams

Aircraft of the second wave

Group numbers are conditional, for designation on the diagrams.

Results

As a result of the Japanese airborne strike on Pearl Harbor strategic goal- to prevent the intervention of the US Pacific Fleet in Japanese operations in the south - was basically achieved. 4 American battleships were sunk, 4 more heavily damaged. 10 other warships were sunk or disabled; 349 American aircraft destroyed or damaged; among the killed or wounded Americans - 3581 military, 103 civilians. (World War II: Two Views. S. 466.)

The Japanese victory could have been even more significant. They failed to cause the slightest harm to enemy aircraft carriers. All 4 American aircraft carriers were absent at Pearl Harbor: 3 of them went to sea, one was being repaired in California. The Japanese made no attempt to destroy the huge American oil reserves in Hawaii, which in fact were almost equal to all of the Japanese reserves. The Japanese formation, with the exception of the ships included in a specially organized formation, which consisted of the 2nd division of aircraft carriers, the 8th division of cruisers and 2 destroyers, headed for the inland Sea of Japan. December 23, it arrived at the anchorage at about. Hasira.

Thus, by 10 a.m. on December 7, the American fleet in the Pacific had virtually ceased to exist. If by the beginning of the war the ratio of the combat power of the American and Japanese fleets was 10: 7.5 (History of the Pacific War. T.Z. S. 266), now the ratio in large ships has changed in favor of the Japanese naval forces. On the very first day of hostilities, the Japanese won dominance at sea and were able to carry out extensive offensive operations in the Philippines, Malaya and the Dutch Indies.

The battleship "California" and the tanker "Neosho" during the raid on Pearl Harbor. The battleship California sank after being hit by two torpedoes and two bombs. The crew could have saved the ship, and even set sail, but abandoned it because of the threat of fire from a flaming oil slick that leaked from other ships of the line. The ship landed on the ground. Has been restored. In the background is the Neosho squadron tanker, subsequently sunk by Japanese carrier-based aircraft in the battle in the Coral Sea in May 1942. By a fortunate circumstance for the Americans, as a result of the fact that during the attack on Pearl Harbor, the pilots of Japanese aircraft had warships as a clear target, there were no hits on the tanker. The Neosho tanks were filled to capacity with high-octane aviation gasoline...

On December 7, 1941, the Japanese attacked the American naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. The attack was aimed at suppressing the enemy fleet and its air supremacy. In part, the Japanese managed to achieve this - 4 battleships were sunk, 4 more were damaged, the Americans lost more than three hundred aircraft, and more than two thousand soldiers died.

Those events immediately attracted interest, giving rise to many conspiracy theories even in America. It is said that the American authorities knew about the impending strike, but did nothing to get a pretext to enter the Second World War. Rumors appeared already during the war, Congress even conducted an investigation on this topic. On July 26, 1946, a report was published that refuted most of the rumors.

Nevertheless, 23 volumes of documents did not put an end to speculation. Too many of the stories associated with that attack were strange. Today on the Internet you can find a lot of documents that were previously hidden in the archives. They allow you to finally dispel most of the myths about Pearl Harbor. But the colorful film of the same name made many believe in the "Hollywood" version of events.

America hurriedly withdrew its carriers before the attack to save them for the coming war. Roosevelt already understood that such ships would dominate the seas. Shortly before the events, two aircraft carriers, Enterprise and Lexington, were based at Pearl Harbor. But the command sent them to deliver fighters for bases on the Wake and Midway atolls. The ships went west towards Japan. There was a fairly long distance between them, and the escort was only symbolic. On December 7, 1941, Enterprise was 200 miles from base and Lexington was 400 miles away. And the nearest aircraft carrier did everything possible to return to Pearl Harbor as soon as possible. The estimated time of arrival was on the evening of Saturday, December 6th. But the aircraft carrier was delayed due to a storm. The next scheduled time was at 7 am, literally an hour before the attack. But even here the military turned out to be overly optimistic. At the time of the Japanese attack, the Enterprise was close enough to have time to send planes to help. Some of them were even shot down by friendly fire. So the story of the hasty withdrawal of aircraft carriers from the base is a myth. Enterprise was only slightly late, otherwise it could have become the most big booty Japanese. And the schedule for such a movement of ships was published back in August 1941, not changing since then. And at that time, battleships were still considered the main striking force of the fleet, it is no coincidence that the Japanese focused on them.

On the morning of December 7, an urgent message about the attack was not sent to Pearl Harbor. According to another version of this myth, a commercial telegraph was used to transmit the message, which led to the delay of a valuable message. Atmospheric conditions interfered with the radio communication session between Washington and the base in Hawaii. In this regard, the commercial telegraph turned out to be, although not the best option, but the only one. A direct message was received at the base at 7:33 local time, but the military did not have time to respond to it.

The US military considered themselves safe and the harbor unsuitable for torpedo attacks. The investigation found the position of chief of naval operations. He bluntly states that no harbor can be considered safe from torpedo attacks. The base at Pearl Harbor was planned so that the fleet could leave it in the shortest possible time. The installation of an anti-torpedo net could lead to a slowdown in the exit of ships from the harbor. That is why such a protective agent was removed at that moment.

Half an hour before the attack, the Japanese ambassador gave the US Secretary of State a message that was essentially a declaration of war. Yamamoto planned to attack Pearl Harbor an hour after Ambassador Nomura had notified Secretary of State Cordell Hull that diplomatic relations between the countries had been cut off. The diplomat was instructed to deliver the note at 1 p.m. on December 7, Washington time. However, the message turned out to be over five thousand words long. Deciphering all fourteen parts took longer than expected. When the Ambassador delivered the message to the Secretary of State, it was 2:20 pm on the clock. The Americans already knew about the attack that happened 35 minutes ago. So Japan started the war without formally declaring it.

The captain of the anti-submarine patrol at the entrance to Pearl Harbor, an hour before the start of the attack, reported the destruction of an enemy submarine. Captain Outerbridge reported a U-boat attacking the base, and was able to sink it with guns and depth charges. The center received a coded message 1810Z at 7:12. However, it took time to decipher. When it became clear what the captain wanted to say, it was already too late - bombs were falling everywhere.

Opana Point radar reported the Japanese attack an hour before the planes arrived, but Admiral Kimmel decided to do nothing. The radar at Opana Point was monitored by Privates Eliot and Locard. They noticed a strong burst of activity on the instruments and contacted the Information Center, which was not yet fully operational at that time. The signal was received by Private McDonald, who relayed it to the only officer on duty. Lieutenant Kermit Tyler, who is training at the Center, decided that the dots on the radar were B-17 bombers flying from the mainland. He told the operators, "Forget it." The report did not go higher, and Admiral Kimmel simply did not know anything. So the fault lies with the rank-and-file employees and, in part, with those who conducted the training.

The Michael Bay film "Pearl Harbor" restored the incident in detail. The three-hour epic of 2001 became very spectacular, making the viewer believe that this is exactly what happened. However, a well-read historian will find many errors in the script. Director Michael Bay has traditionally emphasized special effects over truth. So, the Japanese aircraft had a completely different color - not dark green, but light gray. Admiral Kimmel did not play golf the morning before the attack. Air combat at such a low altitude, and even with maneuvers between obstacles, is a sure way to commit suicide. The ships Nevada, Tennessee, and Pennsylvania were not permanently sunk, but were repaired and continued to be used. The scene of the death of Arizona is effectively shown - a huge bomb breaks through the partitions and gets stuck in the arsenal for a few seconds. In fact, this is a completely illiterate fiction - the bomb exploded immediately at the moment it touched the deck. None of the nurses died during the attack. And there are many such blunders in the film.

Roosevelt knew about the coming attack. It is easy to believe in the duplicity of politicians. Presidents often plunge their peoples into wars out of financial vested interests. But in this case, Roosevelt, realizing the high probability of war with Japan, still knew nothing about the impending attack. In addition, the President's administration, following the generally accepted isolationist policy, hid from him any information about military preparations.

Movie "Torah! Torah! Torah!" Akira Kurosawa missed due to illness. This joint Japanese-American film was released in 1970 and even received an Oscar for special effects. The film is considered the best movie depiction of the events in Pearl Harbor. Akira Kurosawa began filming the Japanese part of the tape. But two years of his work only led to over budget, and not to the filming of usable material. Then Kurosawa was simply fired. To save the face of the director, a story about his serious illness was invented. Only one minute of Kurosawa's footage was included in the final version of the film.

Pearl Harbor was supposed to be the key to the victory of the Japanese in that war. Some historians consider the Japanese to be arrogant. Allegedly, they believed that one attack on an American base could win the war. But in the same film “Torah! Torah! Torah!" it can be seen that the Japanese military leaders were extremely doubtful that one, even if a successful attack, could win an entire war and defeat a great country.

Warships were the main target of the attack. According to the initial plans of the Japanese, American aircraft were to be destroyed in the first place. Fortunately for the United States, aviation was either sent to other bases or on patrol at that moment.

Because of Pearl Harbor, America entered World War II. President Roosevelt did not enter the World War until Germany and Italy themselves declared war on the United States on December 11, 1941. History books ignore this fact, pointing out that it was Pearl Harbor that ended the policy of isolationism.

Japanese American citizens became the only members of the internment camps. It took the United States only a couple of days to arrest all the Japanese living in the country and send them to special camps. But gradually 600 thousand Italians and 11 thousand Germans were added to them. The only difference with the Nazis was that the Americans did not deliberately exterminate their ethnic prisoners.

On December 7, 1941, only Pearl Harbor was attacked. The Japanese attacked not only the American base that day. Guam, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, Wake and Midway Islands were attacked. It's just that those events were not as bright as in Pearl Harbor, and it is customary to keep silent about them.

The USS Arizona received 21 holes. Today, there are 21 holes in the official memorial created on the basis of this vessel. However, they are made solely for the sake of lightening the weight of the structure. Today, 21 cannon salutes are fired through them.

After the events at Pearl Harbor, the USS Arizona was decommissioned. In 1950, the ship was put back into service. It raised the American flag, but Arizona's functions were purely motivational. A memorial was built over the sunken ship to commemorate the victims of the attack.

The Japanese carried out two waves of strikes, as planned. And although in fact the attackers hit the base twice, a third wave was also planned. The first set the goal of suppressing enemy aircraft at airfields, the second - battleships and ships, and the third wave, according to the plans of the Japanese, was to destroy fuel supplies. After the successful first two waves, it was decided not to carry out the final phase, especially since the Americans began to pull up their forces to Pearl Harbor.

The Japanese attacked first. This is a simple and common myth. In fact, as early as 6:37 am, the USS Aaron Ward ("Aaron Ward") attacked and sank a Japanese mini-submarine during her routine patrol.

The Japanese did not have bombs capable of penetrating the armor of heavy ships. Many historians talk about how at the last moment the Japanese decided to attach stabilizers to ordinary armor-piercing shells so that they acted as bombs. And a vertical hit of such a projectile pierced any armor. But this approach itself looks strange - ammunition was being finalized for the operation, although usually the military repels what they have in stock. Having studied the design of the Japanese bomb sample 99 number 80 model 5, it becomes clear that it was developed back in 1939. The ballistic and armor-piercing tips were dismantled from the projectile, in total there were about a dozen changes. So a completely new ammunition appeared, the original artillery shell was just a blank with similar dimensions.

All ten Japanese sailors operating the five midget submarines were killed in the attack. A few miles from the island of Oahu, Japanese submarines launched five dwarf submarines. These tiny boats were battery-powered and carried two people each. They were ordered to sow panic in the harbor during the attack. During the attack, four such submarines were sunk, another ran aground, losing control. When trying to get out, the foreman Inagaki was swept into the sea, but the sailor Sakamaki was captured by the Americans, becoming the first Japanese in this capacity.

Japanese kamikaze pilots participated in the attack on Pearl Harbor. None of the participants in those events can be called suicide bombers. In fact, only the crews of mini-submarines had no chance of returning. A kamikaze in the Japanese army appeared much later.

This was the only Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The Japanese raided the American base at Pearl Harbor. It happened on March 4, 1942. Then a couple of seaplanes dropped several bombs. But then the weather was bad and none of the targets were hit.

The American military responded to the Japanese quickly and harshly. This myth is pretty beautiful and cinematic to be true. A few months after those events, the Americans in the Pacific theater suffered defeat after defeat. As early as December 8, a rumor swept through the United States that the fleet was chasing the Japanese in order to take revenge on them. But on that day, the imperial army invaded the Philippines. General Douglas MacArthur, who commanded the American garrison, sent a telegram to President Roosevelt, imploring him to send a fleet to help. Submarines would be especially useful, which could hunt transports with infantry. But the government ignored the requests, the Philippines was lost by June 1942. The first significant offensive of the American army came in February 1942, when the Pacific Fleet attacked the Gilbert Islands and the Marshall Islands.