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7 December in military history: Attack on Pearl Harbor, 1941

Military history · 7 December · World War II, PacificFull calendar

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Framed by palm fronds, a huge fireball with burning debris bursts from the destroyer USS Shaw in a floating dry dock at Pearl Harbor, 7 December 1941, under towering black smoke
The forward magazine of the destroyer USS Shaw explodes in a floating dry dock at Pearl Harbor during the Japanese raid, 7 December 1941. U.S. Navy photograph 80-G-16871. Public domain. U.S. Navy, National Archives 80-G-16871.
Quick answer

On 7 December 1941, aircraft from six Japanese carriers attacked the U.S. Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor on Oahu, Hawaii, sinking or damaging all eight battleships in the harbor and killing 2,403 Americans. The surprise raid brought the United States into World War II: Congress declared war on Japan the next day.1

The Attack on Pearl Harbor

7 December 1941 · 84 years ago

The raid was the work of Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, who reasoned that Japan could not win a long war against American industry and so gambled everything on a single crippling blow.

Read the full story of The Attack on Pearl Harbor ›

Frequently asked questions

What time did the attack on Pearl Harbor begin?

The first bombs and torpedoes fell at about 7:55 a.m. local time on Sunday, 7 December 1941. A second wave of 170 planes arrived at about 8:50 a.m., and the raid was over in less than two hours.

How many people were killed at Pearl Harbor?

2,403 Americans, according to both the Naval History and Heritage Command and the National World War II Museum, including 68 civilians; 1,178 were wounded. 1,177 of the dead were from the battleship USS Arizona.

Why were the American carriers not hit?

The three aircraft carriers of the Pacific Fleet were not in Pearl Harbor on the morning of the attack, so the Japanese never found them.

What did Japan lose at Pearl Harbor?

29 aircraft, less than a tenth of the attacking force, and all five of the midget submarines sent against the harbor.

Notes

A number in the text points to a note; each note names the works that paragraph draws on, listed in full under Sources.

  1. Naval History and Heritage Command, “The Pearl Harbor Attack, 7 December 1941”; The National WWII Museum, “Pearl Harbor Fact Sheet”; National Archives, “Joint Address to Congress Leading to a Declaration of War Against Japan (1941)”; U.S. House of Representatives, “The Declaration of War Against Japan”. ↩

Sources

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