Attack on Pearl Harbor Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids

Attack on Pearl Harbor

Part of the Pacific Theater of World War II

Photograph from a Japanese plane of Battleship Row at the beginning of the attack. The explosion in the center is a torpedo strike on the USS Oklahoma. Two attacking Japanese planes can be seen: one over the USS Neosho and one over the Naval Yard.

Date

December 7, 1941

Location

Primarily Pearl Harbor, Hawaii Territory, United States

Result

American tactical and strategic victory'

United States declares war on the Empire of Japan
Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy declare war on the United States.

Belligerents

United States of America

Empire of Japan

Commanders and leaders

Strength

8 battleships,
8 cruisers,
30 destroyers,
4 submarines,
49 other ships,
~390 aircraft

Mobile Unit:
6 aircraft carriers,
2 battleships,
2 heavy cruisers,
1 light cruiser,
9 destroyers,
8 tankers,
23 fleet submarines,
5 midget submarines,
414 aircraft

Casualties and losses

4 battleships sunk,
4 battleships damaged including 1 run aground
2 destroyers sunk, 1 damaged
1 other ship sunk, 3 damaged
3 cruisers damaged

188 aircraft destroyed
155 aircraft damaged,
2,335 military killed
1,247 military wounded
68 civilians killed
35 civilians wounded

4 midget submarines sunk,
1 midget submarine run aground,
29 aircraft destroyed,
55 airmen killed
9 submariners killed
1 submariner captured

The Attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise attack by Japan against the neutral United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on the morning of December 7, 1941. It led the United States into World War II. Japan was planning a war in Southeast Asia, against Britain and the Netherlands, as well as the U.S. in the Philippines. All these countries refused to sell petroleum and other war supplies that Japan needed for the Second Sino-Japanese War. Japan attacked so that the U.S. Pacific Fleet, which was a collection of ships that the United States could use in a war, would not enter that war.

The attack was made up of two aerial attack waves (the third canceled) totaling 353 aircraft, launched from six Japanese aircraft carriers. Their commander was Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto. 2,390 people died in the attack.

All the eight American battleships in the harbor were sunk, along with several other ships. USS Arizona (BB-39) exploded; the other battleships were later refloated. The three American aircraft carriers (Enterprise, Lexington, and Saratoga) were elsewhere. Hundreds of aircraft were destroyed and shore installations were slightly damaged. Japan declared war on the United States the same day.

After the attack
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After the attack

The next day, United States president Franklin D. Roosevelt gave a speech to Congress. In his speech, President Roosevelt said that December 7 was "a date which will live in infamy". Most Americans listened to the speech on the radio. A few minutes after the speech ended, Congress voted to declare war on Japan. Only one member of Congress, Jeanette Rankin, voted "no". Three days later, Germany and Italy also declared war on the United States.

Rumors started blaming Italian, German, and Japanese Americans for knowing about the attacks ahead of time and even helping. Many American citizens became afraid of Italian, German and Japanese Americans because Germany and Italy were allied to Japan. As a result, 110,000 Japanese Americans 31,000 German Americans and 3,000 Italian Americans were sent to internment camps starting in 1942. The government made the father of a famous baseball player, Joe di Maggio, move from the West coast because he was an Italian immigrant. Some Italian, German and Japanese Americans were interned as late as 1944. The government apologized for doing this to the Japanese Americans in 1988. German Americans and Italian Americans have never received an apology.

After the war, Japanese leaders who ordered the attack were tried for a war crime.

Images for kids

Pearl Harbor on October 30, 1941, looking southwest. Ford Island is at its center.
Route followed by the Japanese fleet to Pearl Harbor and back
An Imperial Japanese Navy Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighter on the aircraft carrier Akagi
The Japanese attacked in two waves. The first wave was detected by United States Army radar at 136 nautical miles (252 km), but was misidentified as United States Army Air Forces bombers arriving from the American mainland. Top: A: Ford Island NAS. B: Hickam Field. C: Bellows Field. D: Wheeler Field. E: Kaneohe NAS. F: Ewa MCAS. R-1: Opana Radar Station. R-2: Kawailoa RS. R-3: Kaaawa RS. G: Kahuku. H: Haleiwa. I: Wahiawa. J: Kaneohe. K: Honolulu. 0: B-17s from mainland. 1: First strike group. 1-1: Level bombers. 1–2: Torpedo bombers. 1–3: Dive bombers. 2: Second strike group. 2-1: Level bombers. 2-1F: Fighters. 2-2: Dive bombers. Bottom: A: Wake Island. B: Midway Islands. C: Johnston Island. D: Hawaii. D-1: Oahu. 1: Lexington. 2: Enterprise. 3: First Air Fleet.
This message denotes the first US ship, St. Louis to clear Pearl Harbor. (National Archives and Records Administration) (Note that this is in answer to question "Is channel clear?" and faint writing at bottom concerning the answer being held until St. Louis had successfully cleared.)
Captain Homer N. Wallin (center) supervises salvage operations aboard USS California, early 1942
Pennsylvania, behind the wreckage of Downes and Cassin
Remember December 7!, by Allen Saalburg, poster issued in 1942 by the United States Office of War Information
Petty Officer Shigenori Nishikaichi's aircraft ten days after it crashed
Arizona Memorial

Attack on Pearl Harbor facts for kids

Contents

After the attack

Related pages

Images for kids

See also