December 7, 1941, “a date that will live in infamy”, said President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Pictured here: Civilian casualty, Pearl Harbor.
On December 7th 1941, Pearl Harbor was attacked by the Imperial Japanese Navy.
The base at Pearl Harbor was attacked by over 353 Japanese fighters, bombers and torpedo planes in two waves, launched from six aircraft carriers. All eight U.S. Navy battleships were damaged, with four being sunk. Of these eight damaged, two were raised, and with four repaired, six battleships returned to service later in the war.
The Japanese also sank or damaged three cruisers, three destroyers, an anti-aircraft training ship, and one minelayer. 188 U.S. aircraft were also destroyed; over 2,402 Americans were killed and 1,282 wounded. Including civilians.
The attack came as a profound shock to the American people and led directly to the American entry into World War II in both the Pacific and European theaters.
President Roosevelt called it “a day that will live in infamy.”
The Japanese attacked the United States without any warning. The attacks on Pearl Harbor lasted approximately110 minutes, from 7:55 a.m. until 9:45 a.m.
The Japanese specifically chose to attack on a Sunday because they believed Americans would be more relaxed and thus less alert on a weekend. They were proven correct in their assumption.
The following day (December 8), the United States declared war on Japan (see video: Pearl Harbor attackhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFPyVBBvs1Y).
According to the website, “Pearl Harbor Facts”, the “plans for a surprise attack against the United States were begun as early as January of 1941” (source: http://history1900s.about.com/od/Pearl-Harbor/a/Pearl-Harbor-Facts.htm ).