A SUNDAY IN DECEMBER : ATTACK ON PEARL HARBOR : The Dec. 7, 1941 Japanese raid on U.S. military installations in Hawaii and the aftermath

The Japanese Striking Force

The Japanese carrier striking task force that attacked Pearl Harbor set sail from the Kuril Islands on Nov. 26. It was made up of six aircraft carriers, two battleships and had a support force of nine destroyers, one light cruiser, two heavy cruisers and eight tankers. Three I-class submarines were positioned in front of the task force to act as scouts.

U.S. Ships That Missed the Attack

Many ships of the U.S. fleet were not present at Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. A rough estimate would show that about half of the total force was absent. All three of the U.S. aircraft carriers assigned to the fleet were elsewhere, but eight of the nine battleships deployed were present and took the brunt of the Japanese attack. A number of ships were at sea on special missions, including:

1) A special task force consisting of the carrier Enterprise, three heavy cruisers and nine destroyers was about 200 miles west of Hawaii. The task force was en route to Pearl Harbor after delivering fighter planes to beef up Marine Corps defenses of Wake Island.

2) Another special task force was about 400 miles southeast of its destination, Midway Island. This force, consisting of the carrier Lexington, three heavy cruisers and five destroyers, was en route to deliver Marine Corps scout bombers.

3) Another special task force consisting of a heavy cruiser, five destroyers and a number of minesweepers was testing a new type of landing craft off Johnston Island.

4) Two heavy cruisers were on convoy duty in the Samoa and Solomons areas to protect shipping to Australia.

5) About 25 miles south of Oahu, a heavy cruiser and four destroyer-minesweepers were conducting special exercises.

6) Two submarines were in the Midway area, two others in the Wake Island area.

* Other ships, such as oil tankers, were en route to Hawaii from the West Coast.

How the attack developed

* Before 0530 hrs: Two float reconnaissance planes each from two Japanese heavy cruisers visit Pearl Harbor and Lahaina Roads and report “all clear.”

* 0600 hrs.: First wave of 189 Japanese planes takes off from carriers about 200 miles north of Pearl Harbor.

* Before 0630 hrs.: Fifty-four zero-type fighters from the Japanese attack force begin air patrols. Patrols will continue throughout the day, alternating every two hours until 45 minutes after sunset.

* 0653 hrs.: U.S. destroyer Ward reports that it has ferreted out a Japanese midget sub and sunk it. Word does not get to fleet commander for an hour.

* 0702 hrs.: Japanese aircraft from first wave spotted by U.S. Army mobile SCR-270 radar sets on Oahu.

* 0715 hrs.: Second wave of 171 Japanese planes takes off from carriers.

* 0755 hrs: Air bases at Ford Island and Wheeler Field, the first objectives of the Japanese dive bombers, come under attack. Japanese planes will also attack the air bases at Hickam, Ewa, Bellows and Kaneohe.

* 0757 hrs.: Torpedo planes attack American battleships.

* 0758 hrs.: Ford Island Command Center send out message, “Air Raid, Pearl Harbor, This is not a drill.”

* 0800 hrs.: Japanese dive bombers attack the major ships of the Pacific Fleet.

* 0806 hrs.: The battleship Arizona explodes.

* 0835 hrs.: One Japanese mini-sub is sited and fired on in Pearl Harbor. Five others are destroyed at the entrance.

* 0843 hrs.: The second wave of 171 Japanese planes--including 54 horizontal bombers, each carrying one 550-pound bomb and six 132-pound bombs, attacks various air bases on Oahu.

* 0945 hrs.: Japanese planes end attack on Pearl and return to carrier holding point.

WAVES OF JAPANESE AIRCRAFT ATTACKS

The Kate

The Nakajima B5N2 Torpedo Bomber and High-level Bomber

Armament: Two fixed machine guns on the cowling and one or two movable machine guns in the rear cockpit. Also, one 18-inch torpedo or a bomb load of up to 1,100 pounds.

Top speed: 225 m.p.h. at 8,000 feet. At sea level, the top speed was 205 m.p.h.

Length: 33 feet, 9 inches.

Span: 52 feet, 5 inches.

Crew: Two or three.

The Val

The Aichi D3A2 dive bomber

Armament: One 550-pound bomb below the fuselage. Four 132-pound bombs on racks beneath each wing. Two synchronized machine guns over the engine, one or two flexible machine guns in the rear cockpit.

Top speed: 281 m.p.h. at 20,300 feet.

Length: 34 feet, 9 inches.

Span: 47 feet, 8 inches.

The Zero The Mitsubishi A6M2 Zero-sen fighter

Armament: Two 7.7.-mm. synchronized machine guns over the engine, two 20-mm. cannons in the wing, and one 550-pound or two 130-pound bombs.

Top speed: 340 m.p.h. at 19,700 feet.

Length: 29 feet, 9 inches.

Span: 36 feet, 2 inches.

Japanese Weapons of Distruction

800 kg. (1760 lb.) Aerial Torpedo.

highly explosive oxygen was used instead of air for underwater propulsion and it carried an explosive charge of over 1,000 pounds as compared to the U.S. version of only 500 lbs.

800 kg. (1760 lb.) Armor-piercing Bomb.

Capable of penetrating 5.9 inches of armor plate. (17” by 7’-8”)

The First Wave

The first wave of 189 Japanese planes took off from the carriers at 0600. The first wave consisted of 50 horizontal bombers, each carrying a 1,760-pound armor-piercing bomb; 40 torpedo planes, each carrying a 1,760-pound aerial torpedo, and 54 dive bombers, each carrying a 550-pound land bomb as well as machine guns for strafing. In addition, 45 fighters were over these planes for air control and strafing attacks as might be required. A major part of the damage to American ships and installations on Oahu came from the first-wave attack.

The Second Wave The second wave, consisting of 171 planes, took off just over an hour after the first wave. The planes arrived on target shortly before 0900 and continued the mass attack until 0945. The second wave, meeting stiffer aircraft resistance (mostly from Navy guns and from a few Army fighter planes) lost 20 planes in action.

U.S. Casualties and Damage

(Casualty and damage figures differ somewhat from source to source and are constantly being reevaluated by historians.)

Devastation in the Water

The U.S. fleet in Pearl Harbor at the time of the Japanese attack consisted of eight battleships, two heavy cruisers, four 10,000-ton cruisers, two 7,000-ton cruisers, 30 destroyers and four submarines.

U.S. ships lost: Battleships Arizona, Oklahoma; target ship Utah.

Ships sunk or beached but salvageable: Battleships West Virginia, California, Nevada; Destroyers Cassin, Downes; minelayer Oglala.

Ships damaged: Battleships Tennessee, Maryland, Pennsylvania; cruisers Helena, Honolulu, Raleigh; destroyer Shaw; seaplane tender Curtiss; repair ship Vestal.

* All U.S. ships, except the Arizona, Utah and Oklahoma, were salvaged and later saw action.

Disaster On the Ground

A post-strike survey showed that Japanese planes put all U.S. air bases on Oahu virtually out of commission for at least several hours. U.S. aircraft losses given before the Joint Congressional Investigating Committee in November, 1945, were as follows:

* Ford Island: 33 of 70 planes destroyed or damaged.

* Ewa: 33 of 49 planes destroyed. The 13 remaining planes were too severely damaged to fly. (Three others were out on patrol.)

* Hickam--18 of 30 combat planes destroyed.

* Wheeler--42 of 83 combat planes destroyed.

* Bellows--3 of 12 combat planes destroyed.

* Kaneohe--26 of 35 seaplanes destroyed. Six were severely damaged. Three were on patrol.

Counting the Dead and Wounded

Killed Navy: 2,008 Marine Corps: 109 Army: 218 Civilian: 68

Wounded Navy: 710 Marine Corps: 69 Army: 364 Civilian: 35

Japanese Casualties and Losses

Killed: 64

Submarines Sunk or beached: 5

Aircraft

Aircraft in first wave Fighter planes: 3 Dive bombers: 1 Torpedo bombers: 5 total: 9

Aircraft in second wave Fighter planes: 6 Dive bombers: 14 total: 20

Total planes lost: 29 Damaged: 74

In addition, it is believed that about 20 planes were smashed up while trying to land on their carriers and declared a total loss.

Total Killed on Both Sides

U.S.: 2,403

Japanese: 64

SOURCES: At Dawn We Slept by Gordon W. Prange; Eagle Against the Sun by Ronald H. Spector; Pearl Harbor: Why, How, Fleet Salvage and Final Appraisal; The Campaigns of the Pacific War, compiled by the United States Strategic Bombing Survey (Pacific), Naval Analysis Division, 1946; Pearl Harbor Attack; Air Raid: Pearl Harbor; Bob Chenoweth, Curator, USS Arizona Memorial; The Military Hardwate of World War II.