The USS Arizona Memorial is fully open following the completion of preservation work

The Attack on Pearl Harbor

December 7, 1941 — a date which will live in infamy.
Just before 8 a.m. local time on Sunday, December 7, 1941, 353 Japanese aircraft launched from six carriers struck the U.S. Pacific Fleet at anchor in Pearl Harbor. Within two hours, eight battleships were damaged or destroyed, 188 aircraft lay in ruins, and 2,403 Americans had been killed. The first wave hit at low altitude with torpedo bombers; the second arrived twenty minutes later with high-level bombers and fighters strafing what was left.

The articles in this collection examine the attack from every angle: the diplomatic breakdown that preceded the first wave, the radar warning, the strikes on Battleship Row, and the strategic miscalculations the Japanese command made before, during, and after the raid — including the fateful decision not to launch a third wave against the harbor's fuel tanks and dry-dock facilities. Whether you're researching the chain of events, the human toll, or the immediate aftermath, you'll find primary-source accounts, ship-by-ship damage reports, and historian-led analysis here.

When you're ready to walk the harbor itself, book a guided tour of the USS Arizona Memorial and Battleship Missouri — the two sites that bookend America's entry into and victory in the Pacific War. For visitors short on time, the Pearl Harbor Excursion short tour covers the essentials in a single morning, with round-trip transportation from Waikiki.

The attack reshaped the twentieth century in under 110 minutes, drawing a divided isolationist America into the largest war in human history. The articles below help explain how, and why, those minutes still matter.

Other Targets: Naval Air Station Kaneohe Bay

June 02, 2018 ·  
The targets of the Pearl Harbor attack of December 7, 1941 weren't limited to the ships at the Oahu naval base. The eight battleships moored at Battleship Row were the primary focus of the assault,  but to guarantee victory, the Imperial Japanese Navy targeted multiple points across the island of Oahu. Among them, an installation […]
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Enemy Aircraft: Nakajima B5N "Kate"

May 31, 2018 · Chris 
The innocent-sounding “Kate” of World War II was anything but sweet. It was a warplane designed to lay waste to its targets through the bombs it dropped from higher altitudes. Officially known as the Nakajima B5N bomber, the “Kate” (the Allies' name for the aircraft) was a fearsome tool of the Imperial Japanese Navy's Air […]
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Pearl Harbor's Youngest: 16-Year-Old Robert Olsen

May 30, 2018 ·  
You may have heard the story of Calvin Graham, the youngest American to fight in World War II, who was only 12 years old when he enlisted in the Navy after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Before Graham joined up, however, there were young men like Robert Olsen, a 16-year-old medic from Pocatello, ID. Olsen […]
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Shigekazu Shimazaki: Leading the Second Wave

May 30, 2018 · Chris 
In September of 1941, 33-year-old Lt. Cmdr. Shigekazu Shimazaki was assigned to be the equipping officer of the aircraft carrier Zuikaku, which had been commissioned into the Imperial Japanese Navy just days prior. It was in this capacity that he and his ship, together with the rest of Japan's First Air Fleet, set sail towards […]
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Beyond Torpedoes and Bombs: What is Strafing?

May 20, 2018 ·  
When learning about the details of the morning of December 7, 1941, when the Imperial Japanese Navy launched a surprise attack on the United States Naval Base in Oahu, the focus is usually on the devastation caused by the bombs and torpedoes dropped by the attackers on the ships of Pearl Harbor. But there was […]
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The Congressional Pearl Harbor Investigation

May 15, 2018 · Jason Alghussein
Almost from the moment the Japanese planes returned to their ships after their devastating attack on Pearl Harbor, there were all kinds of conspiracy theories about how they could have pulled off such a large operation that took the United States by complete surprise.  Some of these put President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the spotlight, […]
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Learning Pearl Harbor: What are Battleship Classes?

May 08, 2018 · Jason Alghussein
On the morning of December 7, 1941, there were seven battleships moored along Battleship Row with an eighth nearby in dry dock. The USS Nevada (BB-36), USS Oklahoma (BB-37), USS Pennsylvania (BB-38), USS Arizona (BB-39), USS Tennessee (BB-43), USS California (BB-44), USS Maryland (BB-46), and USS West Virginia (BB-48) were all battleships of the US Navy, but there were distinctions between them. Every naval vessel belongs to a class, named […]
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Ships of Pearl Harbor: USS Raleigh

May 08, 2018 ·  
The USS Utah (AG-16), originally commissioned as a battleship designated (BB-31), had long been demilitarized and used as a target ship. Unarmed, she posed no threat, a fact the leaders of the attack on Pearl Harbor were aware of. Unfortunately, two attacking pilots misjudged and fired on the vessel, sinking her and putting in harm's […]
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Ships of Pearl Harbor: USS Avocet

May 03, 2018 ·  
On September 17, 1918, the USS Avocet was commissioned as a Lapwing-class minesweeper with the hull designation (AM-19). For seven years, she maintained this designation, sailing under the command of Lieutenant Christian Crone. In that seven-year span, Avocet took part in multiple tests and exercises, but never saw any combat. It wasn’t until years after […]
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Childhood Memories of Pearl Harbor

May 02, 2018 · Jason Alghussein
Their combined age at the time was barely old enough to enlist. Still, Pat Campbell and Jimmy Lee had front row seats for one of the most devastating events in American history. Here are some of their memories of Pearl Harbor and the attack that changed the course of history. The best way to remember […]
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