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Changing short description from "1941 surprise attack by Japan against the United States" to "1941 Japanese surprise attack on the US"
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{{Short description|1941 Japanese surprise attack by Japan on the US military base in Hawaii}}
{{Redirect|December 7, 1941|the date|December 1941#December 7, 1941 (Sunday)}}
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The '''attack on Pearl Harbor'''<ref group=nb>Also known as the '''Battle of Pearl Harbor'''</ref> was a surprise [[military strike]] by the [[Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service]] on the [[Naval Station Pearl Harbor|American naval base]] at [[Pearl Harbor]] in [[Honolulu]], [[Territory of Hawaii|Hawaii]], in the [[United States]], just before 8:00{{spaces}}a.m. (local time) on Sunday, December 7, 1941. At the time, the United States was a [[Neutral powers during World War II|neutral country]] in [[World War II]]. The attack on Hawaii and other U.S. territories led the United States to formally enter World War II on the side of the [[Allies of World War II|Allies]] the day following the attack, on December 8, 1941. The [[Imperial General Headquarters|Japanese military leadership]] referred to the attack as the '''Hawaii Operation''' and '''Operation AI''',{{refn|For the Japanese designator of Oahu.{{sfn|Wilford|2002|p=32 fn. 81}}|group=nb}} and as '''Operation Z''' during its planning.{{sfn|Fukudome|1955b}}{{sfn|Goldstein|Dillon|2000|pp=17ff}}{{sfn|Morison|2001|pp=101, 120, 250}}
 
The [[Empire of Japan]]'s attack on Pearl Harbor was preceded by months of negotiations between the United States and Japan over the future of the [[Pacific Ocean|Pacific]]. Japanese demands included that the United States [[ABCD line|end its sanctions against Japan]], cease aiding [[Republic of China (1912-1949)|China]] in the [[Second Sino-Japanese warWar]], and allow Japan to access the resources of the [[Dutch East Indies]]. Anticipating a negative response, Japan sent out its naval attack groups in November 1941 just prior to receiving the [[Hull note]]—which states the United States desire that Japan withdraw from China and [[Vichy France|French]] [[French Indochina|Indochina]]. Japan intended the attack as a [[Preventive war|preventive]] action. Its aim was to prevent the [[United States Pacific Fleet]] from interfering with its planned military actions in [[Southeast Asia]] against overseas territories of the [[United Kingdom]], the [[Netherlands]], and the United States. Over the course of seven hours, Japan conducted coordinated attacks on the U.S.-held [[Philippines campaign (1941–1942)|Philippines]], [[Battle of Guam (1941)|Guam]], and [[Battle of Wake Island|Wake Island]]; and on the [[British Empire]] in [[Japanese invasion of Malaya|Malaya]], [[Battle of Singapore#Outbreak of war|Singapore]], and [[Battle of Hong Kong|Hong Kong]].<ref name="Gill85">{{Harvnb|Gill|1957|p=485}}</ref>
 
The attack on Pearl Harbor started at 7:48{{spaces}}a.m. Hawaiian time (6:18{{spaces}}p.m. GMT).{{refn|name=Hawaii time|In 1941, Hawaii was half an hour different from the majority of other time zones. See [[UTC−10:30]].|group=nb}} The base was attacked by 353 Imperial Japanese aircraft (including [[fighter aircraft|fighter]]s, [[Bomber|level and dive bomber]]s, and [[torpedo bomber]]s) in two waves, launched from six [[aircraft carrier]]s.<ref name="parillo288">{{Harvnb|Parillo|2006|p=288}}</ref> Of the eight United States Navy [[battleship]]s present, all were damaged and four were sunk. All but {{USS|Arizona|BB-39|6}} were later raised, and six were returned to service and went on to fight in the war. The Japanese also sank or damaged three [[cruiser]]s, three [[destroyer]]s, an anti-aircraft training ship,{{refn|{{USS|Utah|BB-31|6}}; the former battleship ''Utah'' was moored in the space intended to have been occupied by the aircraft carrier ''Enterprise'' which, returning with a task force, had been expected to enter the channel at 0730 on December 7; delayed by weather, the task force did not reach Pearl Harbor until dusk the following day.<ref>{{Harvnb|Thomas|2007|pp=57–59}}.</ref>|group=nb}} and one [[minelayer]]. More than 180 US aircraft were destroyed.<ref>{{cite web |title=Pearl Harbor attack &#124; Date, History, Map, Casualties, Timeline, & Facts &#124; Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/event/Pearl-Harbor-attack |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220408061328/https://www.britannica.com/event/Pearl-Harbor-attack |archive-date=April 8, 2022 |access-date=11 April 2022 |website=www.britannica.com}}</ref> A total of 2,393 Americans were killed and 1,178 others were wounded, making it the deadliest event ever recorded in Hawaii.<ref>{{cite web |title=The deadliest disaster to ever happen in each state |url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/the-deadliest-disaster-to-ever-happen-in-each-state/ss-AA15iVyW?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=b852eb5146d44c5497c7b7a63e1e26f8&ei=70#image=12 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230425014953/https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/the-deadliest-disaster-to-ever-happen-in-each-state/ss-AA15iVyW?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=b852eb5146d44c5497c7b7a63e1e26f8&ei=70#image=12 |archive-date=April 25, 2023 |access-date=25 April 2023 |website=MSN}}</ref> Important base installations, such as the power station, [[dry dock]], [[Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard|shipyard]], maintenance, and fuel and torpedo storage facilities, as well as the submarine piers and headquarters building (also home of the [[Station Hypo|intelligence section]]) were not attacked. Japanese losses were light: 29 aircraft and five [[midget submarine]]s were lost, and 129 servicemen killed.<ref name=PHFS/><ref name=Kimberly/> [[Kazuo Sakamaki]], the commanding officer of one of the submarines, was captured.
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Preliminary planning for an attack on Pearl Harbor to protect the move into the "Southern Resource Area", the Japanese term for the Dutch East Indies and Southeast Asia generally, began early in 1941 under the auspices of Admiral [[Isoroku Yamamoto]], then commanding Japan's [[Combined Fleet]].<ref name=Gailey1997p68>{{Harvnb|Gailey|1997|p=68}}</ref><ref>[https://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-resources/spotlight-primary-source/japanese-announcement-attack-pearl-harbor-1941 ''Japanese announcement of the attack at Pearl Harbor, 1941.''], "History Resources", The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, New York (USA), retrieved 18. Dezember 2023.</ref> He won assent to formal planning and training for an attack from the [[Imperial Japanese Navy General Staff]] only after much contention with Naval Headquarters, including a threat to resign his command.<ref name=Gailey1997p70>{{Harvnb|Gailey|1997|p=70}}</ref> Full-scale planning was underway by early spring 1941, primarily by Rear Admiral [[Ryūnosuke Kusaka]], with assistance from Commander [[Minoru Genda]] and Yamamoto's Deputy Chief of Staff, Captain Kameto Kuroshima.<ref>{{Harvnb|Lord|1957|pp=12–14}}</ref> The planners studied the [[Battle of Taranto|1940 British air attack on the Italian fleet]] at [[Taranto]] intensively.{{refn|"The Dorn report did not state with certainty that Kimmel and Short knew about Taranto. There is, however, no doubt that they did know, as did the Japanese. Lieutenant Commander Takeshi Naito, the assistant [[Military attaché|naval attaché]] to Berlin, flew to Taranto to investigate the attack first hand, and Naito subsequently had a lengthy conversation with Commander [[Mitsuo Fuchida]] about his observations. Fuchida led the Japanese attack on December 7, 1941."<ref>{{Harvnb|Borch|Martinez|2005|pp=53–54}}.</ref>|group=nb}}{{refn|"A [[torpedo bomber]] needed a long, level flight, and when released, its conventional torpedo would plunge nearly a hundred feet deep before swerving upward to strike a hull. Pearl Harbor deep averages 42 feet. But the Japanese borrowed an idea from the British carrier-based torpedo raid on the Italian naval base of Taranto. They fashioned auxiliary wooden tail fins to keep the torpedoes horizontal, so they would dive to only 35 feet, and they added a breakaway "nosecone" of soft wood to cushion the impact with the surface of the water."<ref>{{Harvnb|Gannon|1996|p=49}}</ref>|group=nb}}
 
Over the next several months, pilots were trained, equipment was adapted, and intelligence was collected. Despite these preparations, Emperor [[Hirohito]] did not approve the attack plan until November 5, after the third of four [[Gozen Kaigi|Imperial Conferences]] called to consider the matter.<ref>{{Harvnb|Wetzler|1998|p=39}}.</ref> At first, he hesitated to engage in war but eventually authorized the Pearl Harbor strike despite dissent from certain advisors.<ref name = "nuclearm">{{cite web | url=https://ahf.nuclearmuseum.org/ahf/profile/emperor-hirohito/#:~:text=The%20emperor%27s%20office%20signed%20off,his%20ability%20to%20do%20so | title=Emperor Hirohito - Nuclear Museum }}</ref> Final authorization was not given by the emperor until December 1, after a majority of Japanese leaders advised him the Hull note would "destroy the fruits of the China incident, endanger Manchukuo and undermine Japanese control of Korea".<ref>{{Harvnb|Bix|2000|p=417}}, citing the Sugiyama memo</ref> Before the attack, he became more involved in military matters, even joining the Conference of Military Councillors, which was considered unusual for him.<ref name="nuclearm"/> Additionally, he actively sought more information about the war plans.<ref name="nuclearm"/> According to an aide, he openly displayed happiness upon hearing about the success of the surprise attacks.<ref name="nuclearm"/>
 
By late 1941, many observers believed that hostilities between the United States and Japan were imminent. A [[Gallup poll]] just before the attack on Pearl Harbor found that 52% of Americans expected war with Japan, 27% did not, and 21% had no opinion.<ref name="cipo19411208">{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=RPcuAAAAIBAJ&pg=5721%2C1471377 |title=Gallup Poll Found 52 p.c. of Americans Expected War |work=Ottawa Citizen |date=December 8, 1941 |access-date=November 28, 2011 |author=The Canadian Institute of Public Opinion |page=1 |url-status=live |archive-date=August 12, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210812143117/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=RPcuAAAAIBAJ&pg=5721%2C1471377}}</ref> While American Pacific bases and facilities had been placed on alert on many occasions, officials doubted Pearl Harbor would be the first target; instead, they expected the Philippines to be attacked first. This presumption was due to the threat that the air bases throughout the country and the naval base at Manila posed to sea lanes, as well as to the shipment of supplies to Japan from territory to the south.{{refn|Noted by [[Arthur MacArthur Jr.|Arthur MacArthur]] in the 1890s.{{sfn|Manchester|1978|p={{page needed|date=December 2021}}}}|group=nb}} They also incorrectly believed that Japan was not capable of mounting more than one major naval operation at a time.{{sfn|Evans|Peattie|1997}}{{page needed|date=December 2021}}
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===Ex-battleship (target/AA training ship)===
*{{USS|Utah|BB-31|2}}: hit by two torpedoes, capsized; total loss, salvage stopped. 64 dead. Later [[USS Utah (BB-31)#Memorial|memorialized]].
 
===Cruisers===
*{{USS|Helena|CL-50|2}}: hit by one torpedo; returned to service January 1942. 20 dead.
*{{USS|Raleigh|CL-7|2}}: hit by one torpedo; returned to service February 1942.<ref>{{cite DANFS| url= https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/r/raleigh-iii.html| title= Raleigh III (CL-7) | publisher= [[Naval History and Heritage Command]]| date= 26 August 2015 | access-date= 30 January 2024| ref= {{sfnRef|DANFS|2015}} }}</ref>{{PD-notice}}
*{{USS|Honolulu|CL-48|2}}: near miss, light damage; remained in service.
 
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*[http://www.criticalpast.com/video/65675029979_attack-on-Pearl-Harbor_Harbor-installations_USS-Arizona-burns_black-smoke-rises Historic footage of Pearl Harbor during and immediately following attack on December 7, 1941] on CriticalPast
* Emily DeLetter: [https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/pearl-harbor-remembrance-day-historical-photos-show-the-dec-7-1941-attack-in-hawaii/ar-AA1l7Znw?ocid=socialshare ''Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day - 82 years later.''] Historical photos show and video of the Dec. 7, 1941 attack in Hawaii, [[USA Today]], 7 December 2023
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gb7XUDlhz6k December 7th (long version)] {{dash}} Documentary made by the [[Office of Strategic Services]] several years after the attack, which shows (mostly by dramatization) life in Hawaii before, during, and after the attack on Pearl Harbor.
 
===Historical documents===
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[[Category:Attacks on military installations in the 1940s]]
[[Category:History of Oahu]]
[[Category:Attacks on military installations in the United States]]
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