December 7, 1941: A day that lives on as one of the most tragic attacks on the United States and the event that launched our country into World War II. Today, more than 78 years later, we are sharing these fourteen rare photographs from the fateful attack on Pearl Harbor in hopes that we can reflect upon this great tragedy in America’s history.

The Japanese Imperial Navy attacks against U.S. Naval Base Pearl Harbor, which began at approximately 7:48 a.m. Hawaiian Standard Time, damaged all eight U.S. Navy battleships, three cruisers, three destroyers, an anti-aircraft training ship, and one minelayer. Approximately 2,400 Americans were killed, and another 1,170 were wounded.

1. A Nakajima B5N2 torpedo plane takes off from a Japanese aircraft carrier before the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Public Domain/Wikimedia Commons
The plane was one of 353 Japanese fighter planes, bombers, and torpedo planes launched in two waves from six aircraft carriers.
2. This Japanese aerial photograph of Pearl Harbor is quite unsettling.
Public Domain/Wikimedia Commons
3. Torpedo planes attack Battleship Row at approximately 8 a.m. on December 7, 1941, as seen from a Japanese aircraft.
Public Domain/Wikimedia Commons
Ships are the USS Nevada, USS Arizona, USS Vestal, USS Tennessee, USS Maryland, and the USS Neosho. In this photograph, the USS West Virginia, USS Oklahoma, and the USS California have already been torpedoed.
4. The USS Arizona, pictured below, was the only ship that fully sank. It was never recovered.
Public Domain/Wikimedia Commons
5. Approximately 1,177 sailors and Marines died aboard the USS Arizona, which lies at the bottom of Pearl Harbor to this day and is the final resting place of 1,102 of those servicemembers.
Public Domain/Wikimedia Commons
6. This panoramic view of Pearl Harbor during the Japanese raid features anti-aircraft shell bursts overhead and was taken from the hills behind the harbor.
Public Domain/Wikimedia Commons
7. The USS California battleship slowly sinking near Ford Island, with the USS Shaw burning in the floating dry dock in the left distance. The USS Nevada is beached in the center-left.
Public Domain/Wikimedia Commons

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8. Photographed from the southern shore of Ford Island is the burning USS Nevada.
Public Domain/Wikimedia Commons
9. The USS Cassin, a destroyer, has capsized against the USS Downes, another destroyer, in a Pearl Harbor drydock. The USS Pennsylvania is astern, occupying the rest of the dry dock.
Public Domain/Wikimedia Commons
10. The USS Shaw, a Navy destroyer, wreck in a floating drydock. After the ship was set afire by Japanese dive-bombing attacks, the ship’s bow was blown off by the explosion of its forward magazines.
Public Domain/Wikimedia Commons
11. Two United States Navy battleships — the USS West Virginia and the USS Tennessee — are shrouded in smoke following the Japanese air raid.
Public Domain/Wikimedia Commons
12. U.S. Navy sailors rescue a survivor from the water near the USS West Virginia.
Public Domain/Wikimedia Commons
The extensive distortion of the ship’s superstructure was caused by torpedo hits below.
13. United States Navy planes and a hangar burn at the Ford Island Naval Air Station’s seaplane base.
Public Domain/Wikimedia Commons
14. Sailors stand amid the wrecked planes.
Public Domain/Wikimedia Commons

Let us all take a moment of silence to remember all the great Americans that were killed or wounded during the attacks on Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941. To immerse yourself in the history of Pearl Harbor even more, plan a visit to any of these seven fascinating historic sites.

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Pearl Harbor, Hawaii

Megan Shute | May 11, 2020

Why did the Japanese choose to attack Pearl Harbor?

Japan attacked Pearl Harbor as a preventative action to keep the United States Pacific Fleet from interfering with military actions planned in Southeast Asia against overseas territories of the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and the United States. Coordinated attacks were executed over the course of seven hours on December 7, 1941, against the American-held Philippines, Guam, and Wake Island as well as the British Empire in Singapore, Malaya, and Hong Kong.

What is the most famous memorial found at Pearl Harbor? 

The USS Arizona Memorial is easily the most famous historic site in Pearl Harbor. It was the only ship that fully sank during the attack, and was never recovered — the ship lies at the bottom of the harbor to this day. Approximately 1,177 of the brave sailors and marines that paid the ultimate sacrifice during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor perished aboard the USS Arizona, leaving only 334 surviving service members who were stationed on the ship. Very few bodies were recovered from the attack, and the sunken ship is the final resting place for 1,102 of those who died during the attack. Many survivors — as well as those stationed on the USS Arizona before the attack on Pearl Harbor — have chosen to have their cremated remains scattered over the ship.

What is Pearl Harbor like today? 

Today, Pearl Harbor is one of two main bases for the U.S. Pacific Fleet, as well as a living piece of history, with several museums and memorials open to the public. The naval station provides berthing and shore side support to surface ships and submarines as well as maintenance and training. The base can accommodate the largest ships in the fleet - to include dry dock services - and is currently home to more than 160 commands.

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