The Japanese Naval attack on Pearl Harbor 7th December 1941

The attack on Pearl Harbor (called Hawaii Operation or Operation AI by the Japanese Imperial General Headquarters (Operation Z in planning) and the Battle of Pearl Harbor) was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941 (December 8 in Japan). From the standpoint of the defenders, the attack commenced at 7:48 a.m. Hawaiian Time. The attack was intended as a preventive action in order to keep the U.S. Pacific Fleet from interfering with military actions the Empire of Japan was planning in Southeast Asia against overseas territories of the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and the United States. The base was attacked by 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. Two of these were later raised, and with the remaining 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 destroyed; 2,402 Americans were killed and 1,282 wounded. Important base installations such as the power station, shipyard, maintenance, and fuel and torpedo storage facilities, as well as the submarine piers and headquarters building (also home of the intelligence section) were not attacked. Japanese losses were light: 29 aircraft and five midget submarines lost, and 65 servicemen killed or wounded. One Japanese sailor was captured.

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. The following day (December 8), the United States declared war on Japan. Domestic support for non-interventionism, which had been strong, disappeared. Clandestine support of Britain (for example the Neutrality Patrol) was replaced by active alliance. Subsequent operations by the U.S. prompted Germany and Italy to declare war on the U.S. on December 11, which was reciprocated by the U.S. the same day.

Ships lost or damaged

Battleships

• Arizona: Exploded; total loss. 1,177 dead.
• Oklahoma: Capsized, 429 dead. Refloated November 1943; capsized and lost while under tow to the mainland May 1947
• West Virginia: two bombs, seven torpedoes, sunk; returned to service July 1944. 106 dead.
• California: two bombs, two torpedoes, sunk; returned to service January 1944. 100 dead.
• Nevada: six bombs, one torpedo, beached; returned to service October 1942. 60 dead.
• Tennessee: two bombs; returned to service February 1942. 5 dead.
• Maryland: two bombs; returned to service February 1942. 4 dead (including floatplane pilot shot down).
• Pennsylvania (Kimmel's Flagship): in drydock with Cassin and Downes, one bomb, debris from USS Cassin; remained in service. 9 dead.
• Ex-battleship (target/AA training ship) Utah: Capsized; total loss. 58 dead.

Cruisers

• Helena: One torpedo; returned to service January 1942. 20 dead.
• Raleigh: One torpedo; remained in service.
• Honolulu: Near miss, light damage; remained in service.

Destroyers

• Cassin: in drydock with Downes and Pennsylvania, one bomb, burned; returned to service February 1944.
• Downes: in drydock with Cassin and Pennsylvania, caught fire from Cassin, burned; returned to service November 1943.
• Shaw: Three bombs; returned to service June 1942.

Auxiliaries

• Oglala (minelayer): Damaged by torpedo hit on Helena, capsized; returned to service (as engine-repair ship) February 1944.
• Vestal (repair ship): Two bombs, blast and fire from Arizona, beached; returned to service by August 1942.
• Curtiss (seaplane tender): One bomb, one Japanese aircraft; returned to service January 1942. 19 dead.

Asking the Question - Who really Benefited from this?

Operation Snow

Operation Snow: How a Soviet Mole in FDR's White House Triggered Pearl Harbor by John KosterHardcover: 350 pages Publisher: Regnery History; 1 edition (September 17, 2012) Language: English ISBN-10: 1596983221 ISBN-13: 978-1596983229 Product Dimensions: 6 x 1 x 9.1 inches

In "Operation Snow: How a Soviet Mole in FDR's White House Triggered Pearl Harbor", author and World War II magazine columnist John Koster provides incontestable proof that Russia was a driving force behind Pearl Harbor. Americans have long debated the cause of the December 7, 1941 bombing of Pearl Harbor. Many have argued that the attack was a brilliant Japanese military coup, or a failure of U.S. intelligence agencies, or even a conspiracy of the Roosevelt administration. But despite the attention historians have paid to the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the truth about that fateful day has remained a mystery-until now. In "Operation Snow: How a Soviet Mole in FDR's White House Triggered Pearl Harbor", author John Koster uses recently declassified evidence and never-before-translated documents to tell the real story of the day that FDR memorably declared would live in infamy, forever. "Operation Snow" shows how Joseph Stalin and the KGB used a vast network of double-agents and communist sympathizers - most notably, Harry Dexter White - to lead Japan into war against the United States, demonstrating incontestable Soviet involvement behind the bombing of Pearl Harbor. A thrilling tale of espionage, mystery and war, "Operation Snow" will forever change the way we think about Pearl Harbor and World War II.

In my opinion this is a must read book and sheds light on a period of our Earth's History which has changed all of us.. Matthew Laird Acred