PEARL HARBOR

On Dec. 7, 1941 Japanese forces attacked Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Admiral Chuichi Nagumo commanded a 33 ship Japanese strike force that came in at night to within 200 miles north of Oahu. His carriers launched about 360 airplanes against the United States Pacific Fleet, under Admiral Husband E. Kimmel, and the Hawaiian ground troops under Lieutenant General Walter C. Short. The first bombs fell about 7:55 A.M. The Japanese main targets were the eight American battleships, among the 92 naval vessels anchored in the harbor. The United States had 18 ships sunk or severely damaged, almost 200 planes destroyed, and about 3,700 casualties. Kimmel and Short were severely criticized for the U.S. losses. The attack was the cause of the United States' invlovement in World War II.

This is the U.S.S. Shaw being bombed at Pearl Harbor.

Shown above is the battleship U.S.S. Arizona sinking.

Above you can see an aerial view of Pearl Harbor Naval
Base being attacked by the Japanese, December 7, 1941.