19 unforgettable images from the Pearl Harbor attack 78 years ago
US Navy
The devastating Japanese attack began Sunday at 7:48 a.m., eventually killing 2,402 Americans and wounding many others, sinking four battleships and damaging many more.
The Pearl Harbor attack spurred America into World War II. Here are photographs from the attack and its immediate aftermath.
December 7, 1941 began as a perfect Sunday morning for the troops serving the US fleet at Pearl Harbor.
Under a early morning South Pacific sun, softball teams were lining up on the beach. Pitchers warmed up their arms, while batting rosters were finalized and the wives and kids came over from seaside church services.
They did not know that for hours the Japanese naval fleet and air forces had been speeding across the ocean toward America's Pacific base. There, like a string of pearls draped across the docks and waterfront, was the majority of America's naval might.
The devastating Japanese onslaught began at 7:48 a.m., eventually killing 2,402 Americans and wounding many others, sinking four battleships and damaging many more.
The Pearl Harbor attack spurred America into World War II, leading ultimately to Allied victory over the Japanese in the East and Nazis and other Axis powers in the West. And the country promised never to forget this day of infamy.
Here are photographs from the attack and its immediate aftermath.
Amanda Macias and Kamelia Angelova contributed to an earlier version of this story.
On the morning of December 7, 1941, an attack planned by Adm. Isoroku Yamamoto to demobilize the US Navy was carried out.
APAround 7 a.m., an Army radar operator spotted the first wave of the Japanese planes. The officers who received these reports did not consider them significant enough to take action.
U.S. NavyThe Japanese hit most of the US ships in Oahu before 9 a.m.
APThe Japanese also took the opportunity to attack military airfields while bombing the fleet in Pearl Harbor. The purpose of these simultaneous attacks was to destroy American planes before they could respond.
U.S. NavyMore than 90 ships were anchored at Pearl Harbor. The primary targets were the eight battleships in Battleship Row.
U.S. NavyThe USS West Virginia, left, was one of the battleships to sink during the attack. The Japanese successfully damaged all eight.
U.S. NavyAt about 8:10 a.m., the USS Arizona exploded as a bomb ignited its forward ammunition magazine. About half of the total number of Americans killed that day were on this ship.
U.S. NavyHere's another picture of the USS Arizona sinking.
APThe USS Shaw, a destroyer, also exploded during the two-hour attack by Japan.
U.S. NavyThe damaged USS Nevada tried to escape down the channel toward the open sea but became a target during the second wave of 170 Japanese planes, hoping to sink it in the channel and block the narrow entrance to Pearl Harbor. The ship was grounded with 60 killed on board.
National Archives and Records AdministrationA Japanese plane hit by American naval antiaircraft fire was engulfed in flames. Fewer than 30 Japanese planes were lost in the attack.
APAbout 190 US planes were destroyed, and another 159 were damaged.
APSailors at the Naval Air Station in Kaneohe, Hawaii, attempted to salvage a burning PBY Catalina in the aftermath of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
U.S. NavyPeople in New York's Times Square bought newspapers with headlines like this one, "Japs Attack US." The US entered World War II after the surprise attack.
APSalvage work soon began on the destroyers USS Cassin and USS Downes. The Japanese failed to damage any US aircraft carriers, which were surprisingly absent from the harbor.
U.S. NavyAbout 10% of Japanese planes were lost on December 7, 1941.
APThe USS Oklahoma was considered too old to be worth repairing.
U.S. NavyHere, a Marine holds a piece of shrapnel removed from his arm after the attack.
US Marine Corps PhotoSailors participated in a memorial service for the more than 2,400 Americans killed in the attack.
Library of Congress
Read the original article on Insider
