Pearl Harbor in World War II. Heading for a big war: why Japan attacked Pearl Harbor

Before the attack
Air attack
United States plans
Pearl Harbor today
Video

Pearl Harbor (also known as "Pearl Harbor" - "Pearl Harbor") appears to be a US naval base. Just like 75 years ago, this facility is a large flotilla in the Pacific Ocean. The Japanese army carried out an attack in the final events of World War II. The location of the base is on the territory of the Hawaiian archipelago, namely on the island of Oahu.

The attack took place on the morning of December 7, 1941 and led to the entry of the United States into World War II.
The purpose of the attack was to eliminate the US Pacific Fleet from interfering in the hostilities of World War II.
Around 8 a.m. local time, the Japanese Air Force began air strikes.
Eight battleships were damaged, four were sunk, and six of them were returned to service and continued to fight in the war.
The Japanese also damaged three cruisers, three destroyers, an anti-aircraft training ship and one minelayer. 188 American aircraft were destroyed; 2,403 Americans were killed and 1,178 were injured.
Japanese losses were: 29 aircraft and five midget submarines were destroyed. 64 servicemen were dead. One Japanese sailor, Sakamaki, Kazuo, was captured.
The attack caused a deep shock to the Americans and led to the state's entry into the war.
The next day, December 8, the United States announced military action against Japan.

Targets of the attack on Pearl Harbor

The attack was based on several main objectives. First, the Japanese intended to destroy important American naval units, thereby preventing the Pacific Fleet from interfering. Japan planned to expand its sphere of influence in Southeast Asia.
And US intervention was not acceptable. Secondly, the Japanese planned to gain time to strengthen and increase their own air force. Third, battleships were the most powerful ships of that time.

Before the attack

A couple of months before the bombing of the Pearl Harbor, the Soviet intelligence officer, Richard Sorge, conveyed to the leadership that Pearl Harbor would be attacked a couple of months later.
American sources claimed that information from Moscow was passed on to the American leadership. Recently, documents were declassified, which spoke of a meeting between German envoy Thomsen and American businessman Lovell. The meeting took place in November 1941. The German envoy announced the impending attack from Japan. Thomsen knew of Lovell's connection with the American government. The information was transferred to W. Donovan, as one of the leaders of the US intelligence. When the information was passed on to the president, there were still three weeks before the attack. On the eve of the attack, US intelligence intercepted information about the attack. Of course, it was not said directly about the attack, but everything pointed exactly to this. However, despite many weeks of warnings, the US government did not send any warning messages to Hawaii.
The strange thing is that no fears were transmitted to where the US Pacific Fleet base was located.

Air attack

On November 26, 1941, the Empire Air Force headed from the base in the Kuril Islands towards the Pearl Harbor naval base. This happened after the United States sent Japan the Hull note. In this document, the United States demanded that Japan withdraw its troops from a number of Asian territories (Indochina and China). Japan took this document as an ultimatum.
December 7 was the date of the attack by the Japanese army on the Pearl Bay. The attack was planned in two stages. The first air raid was to become the main attack and destroy the Air Force. The second wave was to destroy the fleet itself.
The Japanese had six aircraft carriers with 441 (according to other sources, more than 350) aircraft on board. The aircraft carriers were escorted by 2 battleships, 2 heavy and 1 light cruisers, as well as 11 destroyers. The United States Army was taken by surprise. Everything that happened lasted about an hour and a half. The strikes were carried out on airfields (in accordance with the plan) on the island of Oahu. The ships in the Pearl Harbor were also the first to suffer. The USA lost 4 battleships, 2 destroyers and 1 minelayer.
More than 180 aircraft were destroyed, almost 160 (according to other sources, slightly less than 130) were seriously damaged. Attacks from submarines were unsuccessful. The submarine fleet was destroyed.
The attack provided the basis for the entry of the United States into a military conflict with the Japanese Empire. Roosevelt signed a document that told about the official declaration of war on the Japanese aggressor. Now Germany and Italy have reported the outbreak of hostilities against the states. The result of the attack on the US naval base was the basis for America's entry into the world military conflict.
Seven Japanese aircraft were shot down by Lieutenants Welch and Tylor. After the first wave of bombing, the Japanese Air Force lost 9 aircraft, and after the second attack on Pearl Harbor, the Japanese lost 20 aircraft. More than 70 aircraft were damaged, but defects did not prevent the aircraft from returning to aircraft carriers. At 9:45 am, the remnants of Japanese aircraft returned, completing their task.
For about half an hour, the Japanese bomber circled over the destroyed naval base. Since all Pearl Harbor aircraft were destroyed at the beginning of the operation, no one could eliminate the enemy aircraft. Since, two fighters of the Japanese Air Force lagged behind their own, and without a navigation system, they could not fly away on their own. The remaining bomber escorted the stragglers back to the base.
On one of the islands, one of the Japanese aircraft had to land. The pilot was recognized as a prisoner. With the help of one Japanese who lived among the local population, he managed to get hold of a revolver and a double-barreled gun. This weapon turned out to be the only one on the entire island, and the prisoner turned into an invader of power. And still, a day later, in a skirmish with the indigenous people, the invader was destroyed. His accomplice shot himself.
One of the officers stationed at Pearl Harbor said there was no panic in the army. The soldiers were very frightened, but this did not lead to chaos. After the withdrawal of the Japanese aircraft, confusion continued, which became the beginning of many rumors, for example, about the poisoning of the water source by the Japanese. People who drank from it were indeed hospitalized. There were also rumors about the warlike attitude of the Japanese living in the Hawaiian Islands. Rumors spoke of an uprising. The USSR was not spared and "true" information appeared about the attack on Tokyo by the Soviet army.
One of the American bombers attacked its own cruiser. But by a happy coincidence, the cruiser was not damaged. The command undertook a reconnaissance operation to find Japanese ships near the Hawaiian Islands. A message was sent to Pearl Harbor that their fighters would be landing at the base. Despite this, five aircraft were eliminated. The pilot of one of the fighters who jumped out with a parachute was shot.
Japanese aviation, renewing its strength, was eager to fight. They argued that additional strikes should be launched against important ground targets. The management ordered to go back.
American historians agree that the Japanese made a huge mistake for themselves by not destroying the oil reserves and the remnants of the United States Pacific Fleet.

United States plans

Based on the fact that the American government was warned of a possible attack, it can be concluded that the United States, in this way, carried out its plans.
It is believed that the United States specifically used Japan in order to enter the military struggle. The United States was not supposed to initiate accession. Roosevelt considered Germany a threat both to the whole world and to the United States in particular.
Therefore, it was necessary to fight Nazi Germany in a military way. Unification with the Soviet Union could ensure victory over Hitler.
But American society was in a different mood.
Despite the fact that the war had been going on for two years, Germany conquered half of Europe and attacked the Soviet Union, the Americans were against joining the war. The country's leadership had to push the people to change their minds.
If America is attacked, there will be no choice but to retaliate.
Knowing about Japan's plans, the US leadership sent a document to the Japanese government (Hall's note).
Regarding its content (meaning), both sides still have opposite opinions.
Japanese historians argue that the document had the character of an ultimatum. The United States has made an impossible demand.
In addition to leaving territories, America demanded an exit from the alliance with Germany and Italy. Therefore, the Japanese side accepted Hull's note as unwillingness on the part of the United States to continue negotiations.
Based on the planning theory of the United States, to enter the war through a third-party attack, Hull's note was precisely the catalyst for the outbreak of a military conflict.
In fact, this can be considered a provocation.
A provocative Japanese historian argues that Japan had no other choice. Confirmation of his theory, he considers the change in American opinion about the involvement of the US army in the war.
This opinion can be considered true, but the opinion of the people could not help but change after such an attack and great human losses. Another thing is important here, that, having confirmed the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the American government did not take any action. There is still debate about the surprise of a military attack.
There is an additional fact in favor of the opinion of Japanese historians. The surprising and unusual coincidence was as follows.
Japanese aviation was supposed to eliminate the North American flotilla. But it was on this day that the aircraft carriers that were planned to be liquidated were absent from the military base.

Pearl Harbor. The losses of the fleet were not strong.

To this day, the Japanese continue to assert about the provocation, but they have no direct evidence. They also cannot say with certainty how much the Americans knew about the planned operation.

Also a mystery associated with the attack on the Pearl Harbor is that the United Kingdom of Great Britain knew a lot of classified information regarding Japan's plans, but did not provide it to the United States leadership.

Thus, the leadership of both the United Kingdom and the United States was accused. Both leaders sought to drag the United States into the war.

Pearl Harbor today
Today, Pearl Harbor remains the most powerful fleet. In addition to military objectives, "Pearl Harbor" also serves as a museum. On one of the ships of the Second World War, you can meet tourists. It is noted that this ship is in full combat readiness and in case of a military threat, it is ready to embark on the defense of the homeland.

Forces of the parties Losses Audio, photo, video at Wikimedia Commons

Pearl Harbor attack("Pearl Harbor") or, according to Japanese sources, Hawaiian operation- a surprise combined attack by the Japanese carrier-based aviation of the aircraft carrier formation of Vice Admiral Tuichi Nagumo and Japanese ultra-small submarines, delivered to the site of the attack by submarines of the Imperial Japanese 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 involving 353 aircraft 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 sunk or damaged three cruisers, three destroyers, and one minelayer; destroyed 188-272 aircraft (according to various sources); human casualties - 2403 killed and 1178 wounded. The power plant, shipyard, fuel and torpedo storage, piers, as well as 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 soldier.

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

On the same day, the United States declared war on Japan, thereby entering the war. Because of the attack, especially because of its nature, public opinion in America changed dramatically from an isolationist stance in the mid-1930s to direct participation in hostilities. On December 8, 1941, US President Franklin Roosevelt addressed a joint meeting of both houses of Congress. The President demanded from December 7, "the 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 it sought access to natural resources such as oil and rubber. The possibility of a war between Japan and the United States has been considered by both nations since 1921, although tensions did not start to grow seriously until 1931, when Japan invaded Manchuria. Over the next decade, Japan continued to expand its influence in China, leading to full-scale war in 1937. Japan has spent a lot of effort to isolate China and achieve sufficient resource independence to achieve victory on the mainland; the conquests in the south should have helped.

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

In July 1941, following Japanese expansion into French Indochina following the fall of France, the United States stopped exporting oil to Japan (in part due to new American restrictions on domestic oil consumption). This, in turn, prompted the Japanese to begin capturing the oil-rich Dutch East Indies. The Japanese faced 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 protect the advance into the South Resource Region (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 Joint Japanese Fleet. ... He received approval for formal planning and preparation for the attack from the General Staff of the Imperial Japanese Navy only after lengthy disputes with the command of the Navy, including the threat to resign. Full-scale planning was carried out in the early spring of 1941, primarily by Captain Minoru Genda. Japanese strategists scrutinized the British aerial attack on the Italian fleet at Taranto in 1940. This was very helpful to them when planning an attack on the US naval forces at Pearl Harbor.

It will not be superfluous to mention that in 1932 and 1937, the American fleet conducted major exercises, during which they practiced striking with aircraft from aircraft carriers at Pearl Harbor. In both cases, the attacking aircraft achieved success. 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 conduct an effective attack on the base. The Japanese, on the other hand, assessed the idea as very promising.

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

By the end of 1941, many observers believed that military action between the United States and Japan was inevitable. A Gallup poll shortly before the Pearl Harbor attack found that 52% of Americans expected a war with Japan, 27% did not expect war, and 21% did not have an opinion. While US Pacific bases and facilities were brought to alert on several occasions, the US military doubted that Pearl Harbor would be the first target. They expected the Philippines to be attacked first. This assumption was related to the threat posed by airbases throughout the country and the naval base in Manila to sea routes, 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, the debate on this issue could drag on there for three months. "

In early October, two months before the "surprise" attack, Soviet intelligence officer Richard Sorge reported to 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 declassified documents 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. The German diplomat, knowing about the ties of this businessman with the White House, told him about the upcoming Japanese strike. 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 decrypted in Washington in response to the American ultimatum on November 26. Although the lengthy document did not directly mention the declaration of war, its entire meaning and the indication of the exact hour of delivery - 1 o'clock on December 7, spoke for themselves, however, 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."

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 a naval airfield, and around there were anchorage of ships.

On the southeastern coast of about. Ford is home to the so-called "Battleship Row" - 6 pairs of massive concrete piles designed to moor 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 of the 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 station located in the north of the island, but the Americans considered these aircraft their own, so the alarm was not raised.

Japanese aviation

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

Type of	American name	Speed, km / h	Flight range, km	Armament	Crew	Appointment
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 7.7 mm machine guns, two 60 kg bombs under the wings	1	Fighter
Nakajima B5N 2, type 97 model 12	Kate	360	1100	457 mm torpedo or more 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 no.	Aircraft carrier	Qty	Planned goals
Armament: 800 kg armor-piercing bomb
1c	"Akagi"	15	Maryland, Tennessee, West. Virginia "
2c	"Kaga"	14	"Arizona", "Tennessee", "Zap. Virginia "
3c	"I litter"	10	"Nevada", "Tennessee", "Zap. Virginia "
4c	"Hiryu"	10	Arizona, California
	TOTAL:	49
Torpedo bombers "Keith" Armament: aircraft torpedo Mk91
1t	"Akagi"	12	"Zap. Virginia "," Oklahoma "," California "
2t	"Kaga"	12	"Zap. Virginia "," Oklahoma "," Nevada "
3t	"I litter"	8	Utah, Helena, California, Rayleigh
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
1and	"Akagi"	9	Hickam, Eva, oh. Ford
2and	"Kaga"	9	Hickham, oh. Ford
3and	"I litter"	8
4and	"Hiryu"	6	Weller, Eva, planes on M. Barbers
5and	"Shokaku"	6	Kaneohe, Bellows
6and	"Zuikaku"	5	Kaneohe
	TOTAL:	43
	TOTAL in the first wave:	183

Note

Aircraft of the second wave

Group no.	Aircraft carrier	Qty	Planned goals
High-altitude bombers "Keith" Armament: 250 kg aerial bomb and 6 60 kg aerial bombs
1c	"Shokaku"	9	Seaplane base about. Ford
2c	"Shokaku"	18	Kaneohe
3c	"Zuikaku"	27	Hickam
	TOTAL:	54
Val dive bombers Armament: 250-kg aerial bomb
1p	"Akagi"	18	Tanker "Neosho", about. Ford, Maryland
2p	"Zuikaku"	17	Navy shipyard
3p	"I litter"	17	Navy shipyard, docks, battleships
4p	"Kaga"	26	Navy shipyard, docks, battleships
	TOTAL:	78
Fighters "Zero" Armament: 20 mm cannon
1and	"Akagi"	9	Hickham airfield
2and	"Kaga"	9	Hickham airfields, about. Ford, Weller
3and	"I litter"	9	Kaneohe airfield
4and	"Hiryu"	8	Airfields Kaneohe, Bollows
	TOTAL:	35
	TOTAL in the second wave:	167

Note... The group numbers are conditional, for designation on the diagrams.

Japanese fleet attack

On November 26, 1941, the strike force of the Imperial Japanese Navy under the command of Vice Admiral Tyuichi Nagumo, on the orders of 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 formation consisted of six aircraft carriers: Akagi, Kaga, Hiryu, Soryu, Shokaku and Zuikaku, which carried 414 aircraft, including fighters, torpedo bombers and dive bombers. The escort of aircraft carriers consisted of 2 battleships, 2 heavy and 1 light cruiser and 9 destroyers (2 more destroyers had previously separated for a separate operation to shell the Midway Atoll). The operation against Oahu also involved 6 submarines, delivering dwarf submarines to the attack site and later patrolling 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, since the modern types of ships of the Pacific Fleet - aircraft carriers and submarines - did not suffer. Of the 8 American battleships parked in Pearl Harbor, mostly outdated, during the First World War, the Arizona (exploded ammunition) and Oklahoma (turned 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 suffered more serious damage and were repaired by February and October 1942, respectively. California and West Virginia were only rebuilt by 1944.

On the morning of December 7, aircraft from Japanese aircraft carriers attacked airfields on 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, and 1 minelayer were sunk. 4 more ships of the line, 3 light cruisers and 1 destroyer were damaged. The losses of the American aviation amounted to 188 aircraft destroyed, another 159 were seriously damaged. 2,403 Americans were killed (of which 1,102 were aboard the exploding battleship Arizona) and 1,178 were injured. The Japanese lost 29 aircraft, another 74 were damaged. 5 midget submarines were lost due to various reasons. Losses in people amounted to 64 people killed (55 pilots, 9 submariners). Another - Lieutenant Kazuo Sakamaki - was taken prisoner. He was washed ashore after his midget submarine hit a reef.

Notes (edit)

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 ,

Pearl Harbor is the largest US naval base in the Pacific Ocean, located on the island of Oahu in Hawaii.

During World War II, on December 7, 1941, Pearl Harbor was suddenly attacked by the Japanese army, which destroyed most of the US Pacific Fleet within two hours. This elaborate attack by the Japanese naval forces was dubbed the 1941 Hawaiian Operation.

The Hawaiian operation was carried out by an aircraft carrier strike formation under the command of Vice-Admiral Tuichi Nagumo, consisting of 33 ships, including six heavy aircraft carriers (with 420 aircraft on board), two battleships, three cruisers, 11 destroyers, three submarines and eight tankers and a formation of 27 submarines with five midget submarines on board. The general leadership of the forces was carried out by the commander of the Joint Fleet of Japan, Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto.

The American Pacific Fleet under the command of Admiral Husband Kimmel, located at the Pearl Harbor naval base, consisted of 93 ships, including nine battleships (one training), eight cruisers, 29 destroyers, five submarines, nine destroyers and minelayers, 10 minesweepers. At the airfields of the island of Oahu there were 390 aircraft, including 167 naval aircraft.

The air defense of the base consisted of 188 anti-aircraft guns, more than 100 machine-gun installations and five radar stations. The garrison under the command of General William Short numbered 42,959 men.

Japan began preparations for the operation in January 1941 in the strictest secrecy. Even Japan's allies, Germany and Italy, were not aware of its goals and date. The route of passage of ships practically excluded a meeting with merchant and fishing vessels and was outside the range of the American patrol aircraft. During the transition, radio silence was strictly observed, while radio exchange was carried out in the Inland Sea of Japan using the call signs of those ships that followed to the Hawaiian Islands in order to disorient the enemy.

On the evening of December 6, Japanese submarines took up their initial positions on the nearest approaches to the island of Oahu and at 23:00 began launching midget submarines. On December 7, a Japanese aircraft carrier entered the area located at a distance of 275 miles (about 450 km) north of the island.

It was Sunday afternoon. Some of the personnel of the American ships were on the shore. The entrance to the harbor of Pearl Harbor was not closed by booms (floating) barriers, and there was also no anti-torpedo network barrage of battleships. The disposition of the ships did not change for a long time. Aircraft at the airfields were crowded, on the approaches to the Hawaiian Islands aerial reconnaissance was carried out only sporadically.

The Japanese General Staff, on the other hand, had comprehensive data on the disposition of American ships and the state of the base's defense.

On December 7, at 0615 hours Hawaiian time, 40 torpedo bombers, 49 bombers, 51 dive bomber and 43 fighters took off from Japanese aircraft carriers. The raid on the base began at 0755 hours. At 0915 hours the second group of aircraft struck (54 bombers, 78 dive bombers, 35 fighters). The entire raid on the base lasted 2 hours and 5 minutes.

Four battleships, a cruiser, two destroyers, several auxiliary ships and 188 aircraft were destroyed. Four battleships, three light cruisers, a destroyer, two auxiliary ships and over 100 aircraft were damaged. The losses of the Americans in manpower amounted to 3,581 people.

The Japanese lost 29 aircraft and six submarines (of which five were midget), over 70 aircraft were damaged.

As a result of the Hawaiian operation and subsequent Philippine and Malay operations of 1941-1942. Japan conquered supremacy at sea and gained freedom of action in the Pacific Ocean.

With a surprise attack on an American military base, Japan launched a war against the United States. On December 8, the United States, Great Britain, Canada and a number of other countries declared war on Japan.

The success of the Hawaiian operation was due to the careful preparation of the Japanese command for the operation, the clear organization of the covert passage of ships and the surprise of the strike. The American command made mistakes in organizing the defense of the main fleet base and assessing the situation as a whole.

The operation showed high combat capabilities of aircraft carriers, midget submarines did not justify themselves.

US President Franklin Roosevelt called December 7, 1941 "a day of indelible shame." The slogan "Remember Pearl Harbor" became the leading slogan in the American war against Japan.

After 1945, the Pearl Harbor naval base was redeveloped and again served as the main base for the US Pacific Fleet.

A memorial dedicated to the battleship Arizona, sunk by Japanese aircraft, has been unveiled.
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