|
Pearl
Harbor
On Sunday,
December 7th, 1941 the Japanese launched a surprise
attack against the U.S. Forces stationed at Pearl Harbor ,Hawaii . By
planning his 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, and 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 six 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, Kaneoheand
Ewa. The second strike, launched at 0715 hours, consisted
of 167 aircraft, which again struck at the same targets.
At 0753
hours the first wave 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.
When it was
over, the U.S. losses were:
Casualties
USA : 218
KIA, 364 WIA.
USN: 2,008
KIA, 710 WIA.
USMC: 109
KIA, 69 WIA.
Civilians:
68 KIA, 35 WIA.
TOTAL:
2,403 KIA, 1,178 WIA.
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-44) - Sunk at her berth. Later raised and
repaired.
USS West
Virginia (BB-48) - Sunk at her berth. Later raised and
repaired.
USS Nevada
- (BB-36) Beached to prevent sinking. 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
Francisco (CA-38) - Light Damage.
USS Detroit
(CL-8) - Light Damage.
USS Raleigh
(CL-7) - Heavily damaged but repaired.
USS Helena
(CL-50) - Light Damage.
USS
Honolulu (CL-48) - Light Damage..
Destroyers
USS Downes
(DD-375) - Destroyed. Parts salvaged.
USS Cassin
- (DD-372) Destroyed. Parts salvaged.
USS Shaw
(DD-373) - Very heavy damage.
USS Helm
(DD-388) - Light Damage.
Minelayer
USS Ogala
(CM-4) - Sunk 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 (92 USN and 92 U.S. Army Air Corps.)
|
