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| {{TOC|right}} | | {{Image|PearlHarbor Sm.jpg|right|350px|Pearl Harbor as seen from the air in 2000.}} |
| ''For the geographic area, see [[Pearl Harbor]]'' | | '''Pearl Harbor''', located in Honolulu, [[Hawaii (U.S. state)|Hawaii]] on the island of O'ahu, is a [[United States of America|U.S.]] naval base that, during '''[[World War II]]''', was the target of a devastating surprise attack by the [[Imperial Japanese Navy]] on December 7, 1941. This attack galvanized the American public, which until then had resisted entry into [[World War II]], to intervene in defense of the Allies. During the attack, a key ship lost was the Pennsylvania-class USS Arizona (BB-39); it exploded and sank from the air attack with the greatest loss of life at any point during the event. |
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| On December 7, 1941, units of the [[Imperial Japanese Navy]] conducted air and submarine operations against American forces in the [[Battle of Pearl Harbor]]. This battle was a key element in the major Japanese escalation of what they call the Pacific War.
| | The Pearl Harbor commanders, Admiral [[Husband Kimmel]] (Navy) and [[lieutenant general|Lieutenant General]] [[Walter Short]] (Army), had no warning of the attack, during which 2,403 Americans were killed and 1,178 wounded. Eighteen U.S. ships were lost, including five battleships. By contrast, only 55 Japanese airmen and 9 submariners were killed (with 1 captured), with just 29 of the 350 Japanese planes that took part in the raid lost. |
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| While the United States had intelligence suggesting a high probability of Japanese attacks in December 1941, and some specific information that either did not reach the Pearl Harbor commanders, [[Admiral]] [[Husband Kimmel]] (Navy) or [[lieutenant general | Lieutenant General]] [[Walter Short]] (Army), the attack was a tactical surprise.
| | ==References== |
| | | {{reflist|2}}[[Category:Suggestion Bot Tag]] |
| Few battles, and the circumstances leading to them, have been studied as extensively as this one. Many concepts of the discipline of intelligence and warning resulted from this action.
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| ==Japanese operational concept==
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| Japan opened [[World War Two in the Pacific]] with an offensive principally based on their [[Strike-South Faction|Strike-South]] doctrine, seeking resources in Southeast Asia. Nevertheless, they believed they had to deter U.S. forces from intervening. Admiral [[Isoroku Yamamoto]], [[Commander-in-Chief, Combined Fleet]] and an opponent war with the United States, insisted that the preventive attack on the fleet was necessary to protect his other operations.
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| ==U.S. intelligence and planning==
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| ===Communications intelligence===
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| ===Threat assessment===
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| ====Sabotage vs. air attack====
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| Short was convinced that the major threat to his aircraft was sabotage by residents of Japanese ancestry, so he had them parked in close formation for ease in guarding them against ground attack. This made them dense targets for strafing and bombing.
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| ====Implications of the Battle of Taranto====
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| In 1940, the [[Royal Navy]], at the [[Battle of Taranto]], delivered a devastating night attack, by torpedo aircraft, to battleships in a harbor. The U.S. Navy, in spite of knowing the details of that attack, still believed its ships were safe from aerial torpedoes in a harbor, although Taranto was as shallow as Pearl.
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| ==Order of battle==
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| ===Japan===
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| While the overall operational commander was Admiral Yamamoto, the officer in tactical command was Vice Admiral [[Chuichi Nagamo]]. Nagamo, a battleship and gunnery specialist, commanded the Mobile Fleet due to seniority rather than special qualifications.<ref>{{citation
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| | title = Order of Battle: Pearl Harbor, 7 December 1941
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| | author = Joseph Czarnecki, Richard Worth, Matthias C. Noch, Mark E. Horan and Tony DiGiulian
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| | url = http://www.navweaps.com/index_oob/OOB_WWII_Pacific/OOB_WWII_Pearl_Harbor.htm
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| | journal = Navweaps.com}}</ref>
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| *First Carrier Division (Vice Admiral Nagumo Chuichi
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| **[[IJN Akagi]]Captain Hasegawa Kiichi
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| ***Airborne strike leader, Commander [[Mitsuo Fuchida]]
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| ***27 B5N2 "Kate" torpedo/horizontal bombers, 18 D3A1 "Val" dive bombers, 27 [[A6M (fighter)|A6M "Zero"]] fighters
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| **CV [[IJN Kaga]]—Captain Okada Jisaku
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| ***27 B5N2 "Kate" torpedo/horizontal bombers, 54 D3A1 "Val" dive bombers, 27 [[A6M (fighter)|A6M "Zero"]] fighters
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| ***Destroyer Division 7 (Midway Attack Unit)
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| ****DD Ushio (Fubuki Class)
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| ****DD Sazanami (Fubuki Class)
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| *Second Carrier Division (Rear Admiral [[Tamon Yamaguchi]])
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| **[[IJN Soryu]], Captain [[Ryusaku Yanagimoto]]
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| ***18 B5N2 "Kate" torpedo/horizontal bombers, 18 D3A1 "Val" dive bombers, 27 [[A6M (fighter)|A6M "Zero"]] fighters
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| **CV Hiryu—Captain Kaku Tomeo
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| ***18 B5N2 "Kate" torpedo/horizontal bombers, 18 D3A1 "Val" dive bombers, 24 [[A6M (fighter)|A6M "Zero"]] fighters
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| **Fifth Carrier Division, Rear Admiral [[Chuichi Hara]]
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| ***Shokaku (Shokaku Class)—Captain Jojima Takatsugu
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| ****27B5N2 "Kate" torpedo/horizontal bombers, 27 D3A1 "Val" dive bombers, 15 [[A6M (fighter)|A6M "Zero"]] fighters
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| ***[[IJN Zuikaku]]—Captain Yokokawa Ichibei
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| ****27B5N2 "Kate" torpedo/horizontal bombers, 27 D3A1 "Val" dive bombers, 15 [[A6M (fighter)|A6M "Zero"]] fighters
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| **DD Akigumo (Yugumo Class)
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| **Battleship Division 3, Vice Admiral [[Gunichi Mikawa]]
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| ***''[[IJN Hiei]]
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| ***''[[IJN Kirishima]]
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| **Cruiser Division 8
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| ***CA Tone
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| ***CA Chikuma
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| **Destroyer Squadron 1, Rear Admiral Omori Sentaro
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| ***CL Abukuma (Nagara Class)
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| ***Destroyer Division 17, 4 destroyers
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| ***Destroyer Division 18, 4 destroyers
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| **Midway Destruction Unit, Captain Ohishi Kaname, 2 destroyers
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| **Submarine Division 2, Captain Imaizumi Kijirom, three I-class submarines
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| **1st Supply Train, 6 civilian oilers
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| **2nd Supply Train, 3 civilian oilers
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| *Sixth (Submarine) Fleet. Vice Admiral Shimizu Mitsumi
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| **1st Submarine Squadron, Rear Admiral Sato Tsutomu, four I-class submarines
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| **2nd Submarine Squadron, Rear Admiral Yamazaki Shigeaki, seven I-class submarines
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| **3rd Submarine Squadron, Rear Admiral Miwa Shigeyoski, nine I-class submarines
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| **Special Attack Unit, Captain Sasaki Hanku (Mother Submarines Commander), Lt. Naoji Iwasa (Mini-submarines Commander); five midget submarines
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| **Submarine Reconnaissance Unit, Commander Kashihara Yasuchika, two I-class submarines
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| ===United States===
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| ==The attack==
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| ===Preliminaries===
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| [[Image:Japanese Kate in Pearl Harbor attack.jpg|thumb|250px|Japanese torpedo bomber taking off to attack Pearl Harbor]]
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| ===First wave air attack===
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| [[Image:Japanese view of Pearl Harbor attack.jpg|thumb|left|300px|Japanese perspective approaching Battleship Row]] | |
| The picture, taken from a Japanese aircraft, shows [[USS Nevada (BB-36)]] with flag raised at stern; [[USS Arizona (BB-39)]] with repair ship [[USS Vestal (AR-4)]] outboard; Tennessee (BB-43) with West Virginia (BB-48) outboard; [[USS Maryland (BB-46)]] with [[USS Oklahoma (BB-37)]] outboard; [[USS Neosho (AO-23)]] and [[USS California (BB-44)]].
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| West Virginia, Oklahoma and California have been torpedoed, as marked by ripples and spreading oil, and the first two are listing to port. Torpedo drop splashes and running tracks are visible at left and center. White smoke in the distance is from Hickam Field. Grey smoke in the center middle distance is from the torpedoed USS Helena (CL-50),
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| ===Second wave air attack===
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| ===Arguments for and against a possible third strike===
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| ==Aftermath==
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| ===Changes in Command===
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| ===Effect on naval doctrine===
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