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NOTE - this page includes twenty-plus photos and one video

Sunday 7th December 1941

On Sunday December 7th 1941, the Japanese launched a surprise attack against the US Forces stationed at Pearl Harbor Hawaii

By planning this attack on a Sunday, the Japanese commander Admiral Nagumo, hoped to catch the entire fleet in port
As luck would have it, the aircraft carriers and one of the battleships were not in port
----------the USS Enterprise was returning from Wake Island , where it had just delivered some aircraft
----------the USS Lexington was ferrying aircraft to Midway
----------the USS Saratoga and USS Colorado were undergoing repairs in the United States

In spite of the latest intelligence reports about the missing aircraft carriers, his most important targets, Admiral Nagumo decided to continue the attack with his force of 6 carriers and 423 aircraft
At a range of 230 miles north of Oahu, he launched the first wave of a two-wave attack

Beginning at 0600 hours his first wave consisted of 183 fighters and torpedo bombers which struck at the fleet in Pearl Harbor and the airfields in Hickam, Kaneohe and Ewa
The second strike, launched at 0715 hours, consisted of 167 aircraft, which again struck at the same targets
At 0753 hours another strike consisting of 40 Nakajima B5N2 'Kate' torpedo bombers, 51 Aichi D3A1 'Val' dive bombers, 50 high altitude bombers and 43 Zeros struck airfields and Pearl Harbor

Within the next hour, the second wave arrived and continued the attack

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Casualties

US Army: 218 KIA, 364 WIA
US Navy: 2008 KIA, 710 WIA
US MarineCorp: 109 KIA, 69 WIA
Civilians: 68 KIA, 35 WIA

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TOTAL: 2403 KIA - 1178 WIA

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Monday 6th August 1945
Hiroshima

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Thursday 9th August 1945
Nagasaki

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"The Day of Infamy Speech"

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Battleships

USS Arizona (BB-39)
total loss when a bomb hit her magazine

USS Oklahoma (BB-37)
total loss when she capsized and sunk in the harbor

USS California (BB-4 4)
sunk at her berth and later raised and repaired

USS West Virginia (BB-48)
sunk at her berth and later raised and repaired

USS Nevada - (BB-36)
beached to prevent sinking and later repaired

USS Pennsylvania (BB-38)
light damage

USS Maryland (BB-46)
light damage

USS Tennessee (BB-43)
light damage

USS Utah (AG-16)
former battleship used as a target - sunk

Cruisers

USS New Orleans (CA-32)
light damage

USS San Francis co (CA-38)
light damage

USS Detroit (CL-8)
light damage

USS Raleigh (CL-7)
heavily damaged but later repaired

USS Helena (CL-50)
light damage

USS Honolulu (CL-48)
light damage

Destroyers

USS Downes (DD-375)
destroyed but parts salvaged

USS Cassin - (DD -3 7 2)
destroyed but parts salvaged

USS Shaw (DD-373)
very heavy damage

USS Helm (DD-388)
light damage

Minelayer

USS Ogala (CM-4)
sunk at her berth but later raised and repaired

Seaplane Tender

USS Curtiss (AV-4)
severely damaged but later repaired

Repair Ship

USS Vestal (AR-4)
severely damaged but later repaired

Harbor Tug

USS Sotoyomo (YT-9)
sunk but later raised and repaired

Aircraft

188 Aircraft destroyed
96 USN and 92 US Army Air Corps

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CLICK HERE
for more information on Pearl Harbour

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