Pearl Harbor In View

"The Japanese Sneak Attack on Pearl Harbor". Charcoal and chalk by Commander Griffith Bailey Coale, USNR, Official U.S. Navy Combat Artist, 1944. This artwork ... shows the destruction wrought on ships of the U.S. Pacific Fleet attacked in their berths by scores of enemy torpedo planes, horizontal and dive bombers on December 7, 1941. At the extreme left is the stern of the cruiser Helena, while the battleship Nevada steams past and three geysers, caused by near bomb misses, surround her. In the immediate foreground is the capsizing minelayer Oglala. The battleship to the rear of the Oglala is the California, which has already settled. At the right, the hull of the capsized Oklahoma can be seen in front of the Maryland; the West Virginia in front of the Tennessee; and the Arizona settling astern of the Vestal ..., seen at the extreme right. The artist put this whole scene together for the first time in the early summer of 1944, from 1010 Dock, in Pearl Harbor, where he was ordered for this duty. Coale worked under the guidance of Admiral William R. Furlong, Commandant of the Pearl Harbor Navy Yard, who stepped from his Flagship, the Oglala, as she capsized (quoted from the original Combat Art description).

 

Japanese war art painting, in oils, by Tsuguji Fujita, 1942, depicting attacks around Ford Island. The original painting measures about 2.7M by 1.7M.

 

Chief Boatswain Edwin J. Hill. During the 7 December 1941 Japanese air raid on Pearl Harbor, he was serving on board USS Nevada (BB-36). In the midst of the attack, he led the ship's line handling detail in casting off from the quays alongside Ford Island so that Nevada could get underway. He was killed by enemy bombs while attempting to drop anchor at the end of the battleship's brief sortie. For his heroism during the Pearl Harbor action, Chief Boatswain Hill was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.  

 

Captain Donald Kirby Ross. During the 7 December 1941 Japanese air raid on Pearl Harbor, he was serving on board USS Nevada (BB-36). When the ship was badly damaged by bombs and torpedoes, he kept the dynamo rooms operating until he was overpowered by smoke, steam, heat and exhaustion. For his courageous conduct, Machinist Ross was awarded the Medal of Honor. (Note the Medal of Honor ribbon on his jacket.)

 

"This is not a Drill" Dispatch, 12/7/1941: This Navy dispatch sent from the Commander in Chief of the Pacific announces the attack on the U.S. Naval Base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii by the Japanese Navy. It was received at the Squantum Naval Reserve Aviation Base on December 7, 1941 from the First Naval District. It states, "AIR RAID ON PEARL HARBOR X THIS IS NOT DRILL."

 

Panorama view of Pearl Harbor, during the Japanese raid, with anti-aircraft shell bursts overhead. The photograph looks southwesterly from the hills behind the harbor. Large column of smoke in lower right center is from the burning USS Arizona (BB-39). Smoke somewhat further to the left is from the destroyers Shaw (DD-373), Cassin (DD-372) and Downes (DD-375), in drydocks at the Pearl Harbor Navy Yard.

 

Halftone reproduction of a photograph taken from a Japanese plane during the torpedo attack on the ships moored on both sides of Ford Island. View looks about southeast, with Honolulu and Diamond Head in the right distance. Torpedoes have just struck USS West Virginia and USS Oklahoma on the far side of Ford Island. On the near side of the island, toward the left, USS Utah and USS Raleigh have already been torpedoed. Fires are burning at the seaplane base, at the right end of Ford Island. Across the channel from the seaplane base, smoke along 1010 Dock indicates that USS Helena has also been torpedoed.`

 

View looking toward the Pearl Harbor Navy Yard from the Aiea area, in the morning of 7 December 1941, during or soon after the end of the Japanese air raid. USS Nevada (BB-36) is in the center distance. Large column of smoke to the left of her is from USS Shaw (DD-373), burning in the floating drydock YFD-2. Battleship Row is in the right center. Largest mass of smoke there comes from USS Arizona (BB-39).

 

A Navy photographer snapped this photograph of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii on December 7, 1941, just as the USS Shaw exploded. The stern of the USS  Nevada can be seen in the foreground.

 

USS Shaw (DD-373) burning in floating drydock YFD-2 after she was set afire by Japanese dive bombing attacks. The burning bow of USS Nevada (BB-36) is on the right. Official U.S. Navy photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.

 

View looking down Battleship Row from Ford Island Naval Air Station, shortly after the Japanese torpedo plane attack. USS California (BB-44) is at left, listing to port after receiving two torpedo hits. In the center are USS Maryland (BB-46) with the capsized USS Oklahoma (BB-37) alongside. USS Neosho (AO-23) is at right, backing clear of the area. Most smoke is from USS Arizona (BB-39).

 

View of Battleship Row from the head of 1010 dock, during or immediately after the Japanese raid. USS Arizona (BB-39) is sunk and burning at right. USS West Virginia (BB-48) is in the right center, sunk alongside USS Tennessee (BB-43), with oil fires shrouding them both. The capsized USS Oklahoma (BB-37) is in the left center, alongside USS Maryland (BB-46). Note wire spools in the right foreground, one marked Crescent Wire & Cable Co., Trenton, N.J.

 

View of Battleship Row during or immediately after the Japanese raid. USS West Virginia (BB-48) is at the right sunk alongside USS Tennessee (BB-43), with oil fires shrouding them both. The capsized USS Oklahoma (BB-37) is at the left, alongside USS Maryland (BB-46). Crewmen on the latter's stern are using firehoses to try to push burning oil away from their ship.

 

Vertical aerial view of Battleship Row, beside Ford Island, during the early part of the horizontal bombing attack on the ships moored there. Photographed from a Japanese aircraft. Ships seen are (from left to right): USS Nevada; USS Arizona with USS Vestal moored outboard; USS Tennessee with USS West Virginia moored outboard; USS Maryland with USS Oklahoma moored outboard; and USS Neosho, only partially visible at the extreme right. A bomb has just hit Arizona near the stern, but she has not yet received the bomb that detonated her forward magazines. West Virginia and Oklahoma are gushing oil from their many torpedo hits and are listing to port. Oklahoma's port deck edge is already under water. Nevada has also been torpedoed.

 

USS Phoenix (CL-46) steams down the channel off Ford Island's Battleship Row, past the sunken and burning USS West Virginia (BB-48), at left, and USS Arizona (BB-39), at right, 7 December 1941.

 

Battleship Row. This Japanese propaganda photograph, circulated to neutral countries, carried the caption, "Our Sea Eagles' determined attack had already opened, and a column of water from a direct torpedo hit on a Maryland class is rising [the West Virginia, which is listing to port]. On the surface of the water concentric waves are traced by the direct torpedo hits, while murky oil flows out. The three bright white streaks between the waves are the torpedo tracks. In the distance the conflagration at the Hickam Field hangars is seen."

 

On the first anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, Japan issued a stamp bearing a photograph of the attack, taken within seconds of the previous photograph.

 

Vertical aerial view of Battleship Row, beside Ford Island, soon after USS Arizona was hit by bombs and her forward magazines exploded. Photographed from a Japanese aircraft. Ships seen are (from left to right): USS Nevada; USS Arizona (burning intensely) with USS Vestal moored outboard; USS Tennessee with USS West Virginia moored outboard; and USS Maryland with USS Oklahoma capsized alongside. Smoke from bomb hits on Vestal and West Virginia is also visible.

 

View looking up Battleship Row on 7 December 1941, after the Japanese attack. USS Arizona (BB-39) is in the center, burning furiously. To the left of her are USS Tennessee (BB-43) and the sunken USS West Virginia (BB-48).

 

American sailors fight the fires on the battleship USS West Virginia.

 

USS Nevada (BB-36) headed down channel past the Navy Yard's 1010 Dock, under Japanese air attack during her sortie from "Battleship Row". A camouflage Measure 5 false bow wave is faintly visible painted on the battleship's forward hull. Photographed from Ford Island. Small ship in the lower right is USS Avocet (AVP-4). Note fuel tank "farm" in the left center distance, beyond the Submarine Base.

 

USS Nevada (BB-36) afire and down at the bow, after she was bombed by Japanese planes while attempting to get to sea. Photographed from Ford Island. Note men in Nevada's main top, manning .50 caliber machine guns.

 

USS Nevada (BB-36) heading down channel, afire from several Japanese bomb hits, as seen from Ford Island during the latter part of the attack. Ship whose boom and flagstaff are visible at left is USS Avocet (AVP-4). Note camouflage Measure 5 false bow wave painted on Nevada.

 

USS Nevada (BB-36) afire off the Ford Island seaplane base, with her bow pointed up-channel. USS Shaw (DD-373) is burning in the floating dry dock YFD-2 in the left background. Photographed from Ford Island, with a dredging line at left.

 

Gunners on board USS Avocet (AVP-4) look for more Japanese planes, at about the time the air raid ended. Photographed from atop a building at Naval Air Station Ford Island, looking toward the Navy Yard. USS Nevada (BB-36) is at right, with her bow afire. Beyond her is the burning USS Shaw (DD-373). Smoke at left comes from the destroyers Cassin (DD-372) and Downes (DD-375), ablaze in Drydock Number One.

 

USS Nevada (BB-36) headed down channel after being intensely attacked by Japanese dive bombers. Photographed from Ford Island, with USS Avocet (AVP-4) in the foreground and the dredge line in the middle distance.

 

The USS Arizona days after the attack with its fires out and the evidence of extensive damage.

 

USS Nevada (BB-36) aground and burning off Waipio Point, after the end of the Japanese air raid. Ships assisting her, at right, are the harbor tug Hoga (YT-146) and USS Avocet (AVP-4).

 

USS Nevada (BB-36) beached and burning after being hit forward by Japanese bombs and torpedoes. Her pilothouse area is discolored by fires in that vicinity. The harbor tug Hoga (YT-146) is alongside Nevada's port bow, helping to fight fires on the battleship's forecastle. Note channel marker buoy against Nevada's starboard side.

 

Damage to the forecastle deck of USS Nevada (BB-36), caused by the explosion of a Japanese bomb below decks. Gun barrels of the battleship's forward 14"/45 triple turret are in the background. Photographed on 12 December 1941 from on board USS Rail (AM-26), which was tied up alongside Nevada's starboard bow, assisting with salvage efforts. Note officer in center, wearing a .45 caliber pistol.

 

View on deck looking aft toward the forward 14"/45 gun turrets and superstructure, showing bomb damage received during the Pearl Harbor attack on 7 December 1941. Photographed was taken five days later, on 12 December.

 

Hole in the ship's port side caused by a Japanese Type 91 aerial torpedo that hit her during the 7 December 1941 air raid. Photographed on 19 February 1942, in Pearl Harbor Navy Yard's Drydock Number Two. The view runs from about Frame 37 at left to about Frame 44 at right. The battleship's side armor is visible inside the hole's upper section.

 

Hole in the ship's port side, between about Frame 38 and Frame 46, caused by a Japanese Type 91 aerial torpedo that hit her during the 7 December 1941 air raid. Photographed on about 19 February 1942, in Pearl Harbor Navy Yard's Drydock Number Two. The battleship's side armor is visible inside the hole's upper section.

 

Tugs and other ships trying to keep USS California (BB-44) afloat, soon after the Japanese torpedoed and bombed her at Pearl Harbor, 7 December 1941. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval History and Heritage Command.

 

View of USS California (BB-44), taken a day or two after the Japanese raid. USS Bobolink (AM-20), at left, USS Vireo (AM-52) and YW-10 are off the battleship's stern, assisting with efforts to keep her afloat. Collection of Vice Admiral Homer N. Wallin, USN(Retired), 1975. U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph.

 

The sunken battleship West Virginia (BB-48) after her fires were out, possibly on 8 December 1941. USS Tennessee (BB-48) is inboard. An OS2U floatplane (marked 4-O-3) is upside down on West Virginia's main deck. A second OS2U is partially burned out atop the Turret # 3 catapult. Note radar antenna atop West Virginia's foremast.

 

USS Tern (AM-31) fighting fires aboard the sunken USS West Virginia (BB-48), on 7 December 1941, immediately after the Japanese raid. Note radar antenna, paravanes and 16/45 twin gun turrets on the battleship.

 

USS Maryland at berth F-5, with men working on the capsized hull of USS Oklahoma alongside, during or immediately after the Japanese attack. USS Tennessee (BB-43) is visible in the left background. Collection of Vice Admiral Homer N. Wallin, USN(Retired), 1975. U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph.

 

USS West Virginia (BB 48), sunk at her berth by Japanese torpedoes and bombs, was sufficiently raised to drydock. She is being maneuvered by tugs, preliminary to the start of repairs. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.

 

Rescue teams at work on the capsized hull of USS Oklahoma (BB-37), seeking crew members trapped inside, 7 December 1941. The starboard bilge keel is visible at the top of the upturned hull. Officers' Motor Boats from Oklahoma and USS Argonne (AG-31) are in the foreground. USS Maryland (BB-46) is in the background. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.

 

The capsized USS Oklahoma (BB 37) is in the center, alongside USS Maryland (BB 46). Official U.S. Navy photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.

 

The capsized hull of USS Oklahoma (BB-37), with a barge alongside to support rescue efforts, probably on 8 December 1941. USS Maryland (BB-46) is at right, and USS California (BB-44) is in the center distance. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.

 

The damaged USS Curtiss (AV-4), at left, and USS Medusa (AR-1), at right, at their moorings soon after the Japanese raid. Note that Curtiss has been fitted with an air search radar.

 

USS Downes (DD-375), at left, and USS Cassin (DD-372), capsized at right, burned out and sunk in the Pearl Harbor Navy Yard drydock on 7 December 1941, after the Japanese attack. The relatively undamaged USS Pennsylvania (BB-38) is in the background.

 

USS Raleigh (CL-7) being kept afloat by a salvage barge moored to her port side, after she had been torpedoed and damaged by a bomb during the Japanese raid. Naval History & Heritage Command photo.

 

Rescue parties are working on openings in the hull of USS Utah (AG 16), a target ship, sent to the bottom during the Japanese attacks. Before conversion to a radio-controlled target ship in 1931, Utah held the designation of BB-31. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.

 

USS Vestal (AR-4) after she was beached in Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941. She had been damaged by Japanese bomb hits during the raid. An Officers’ Motor Boat is alongside her starboard quarter. Official U.S. Navy photograph from Naval History & Heritage Command.

 

USS Vestal (AR-4) beached on Aiea shoal, Pearl Harbor, after the Japanese raid. She is listing from damage caused by two bombs that hit her during the attack. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.

 

USS Tennessee (BB-43), at left, alongside the sunken USS West Virginia (BB-48), photographed from the capsized hull of USS Oklahoma (BB-37) on 10 December 1941, three days after the Japanese raid. The mainmast of USS Arizona (BB-39) is visible in the right distance. Collection of Vice Admiral Homer N. Wallin. U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command.

 

View of the top of Turret # 3 on USS Tennessee (BB-43), showing damage to the turret and its catapult caused by a Japanese armor-piercing bomb. Photographed in December 1941, shortly after the raid. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval History and Heritage Command.

 

Torpedo damage to the hull of USS California (BB-44), photographed at the Pearl Harbor Navy Yard in April 1942, soon after the ship had been drydocked for repairs. This is California's forward torpedo hole, centered at about Frame 52. Note armor belt at the top of the hole and bilge keel below it. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.

 

Shock and amazement are registered on the expression of the Schofield Barracks soldier in the foreground. December 7, 1941.

 

A sailor killed by the Japanese air attack washes ashore at Naval Air Station, Kanoehe Bay.

 

Chief Watertender Peter Tomich, USN, who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for heroism on board USS Utah (AG 16) during the Dec. 7, 1941 Japanese air attack on Pearl Harbor.

 

Admiral Husband Kimmel.

 

Admiral Kimmel made the cover of Time magazine on 15 December 1941. Admiral Yamamoto made the cover a week later on 22 December.

 

Soldiers leaving the pier to board trucks for Schofield Barracks, Honolulu. They are part of the build-up of men and equipment that began after the attack.

 

President Franklin D. Roosevelt signing the U.S. declaration of war in the White House on 8 December 1941.

 

Tai Sing Loo, the Navy Yard’s well-known photographer, pitched in to fight fires, serve food, and later wrote up his recollections of the battle in How Happen I Were at Pearl Harbor. He is pictured here many years after the attack with his famous trademark helmet, which he had forgotten that day, and was thus afraid he might be shot as a Japanese spy.

 

A crowd on Broadway in New York City hold up newspapers announcing the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, during World War II.

 

A sign pointed the way to Pearl Harbor on Dec. 15, 1941, a week after the attack.

 

“Remember Dec. 7th!” poster by Allan R. Saalburg (Rusell) 1899-1974. Office for Emergency Management. Office of War Information. Domestic Operations Branch. Bureau of Special Services. (03/09/1943 - 09/15/1945)

 

“Avenge December 7” poster by Bernard Perlin.

 

A rally at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, December 1941.

 

A rally at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, December 1941.

 

The Brooklyn Navy Yard by night, 1941.

 

A hastily constructed defense bunker, Oahu, early 1942.

 

Training with gas masks in Hawaii, early 1942.

 

U.S. troops posed in Hawaii in the days after the attack on Pearl Harbor.

 

Troops in Hawaii, early 1942.

 

Men dug a defensive trench in Hawaii after Pearl Harbor, December 1941.

 

Pearl Harbor troops shored up defenses in Hawaii.

 

Post-Pearl Harbor training and patrol in Hawaii, early 1942.

 

Young defenders beside a mounted machine gun, Hawaii, December 1941.

 

Aboard an American warship, Pearl Harbor, early 1942.

 

A sailor chalked a message to America’s fighting men from the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations on a warship at Pearl Harbor: “Your conduct and action have been splendid. While you have suffered from a treacherous attack, your commander-in-chief has informed me that your courage and stamina remain magnificent. You know you will have your revenge. Recruiting stations are jammed with men eager to join you.” 

 

An American warship’s crew showed its spirit, Pearl Harbor, early 1942.

 

Members of the Court of Inquiry ordered by the Secretary of the Navy to inquire into the circumstances connected with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor are snapped as they sit in session in the Navy Department in Washington, D.C. President of the Court is Admiral Orin G. Murfin, USN, (Retired), (center). The other members are Admiral Edward C. Kalbfus, USN, (Retired), (left), and Vice Admiral Adolphus Andrews, USN, (Retired). Released July 24, 1944. U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.

 

New York World-Telegram, December 8, 1941.

 

Newspaper of the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, December 7, 1941 afternoon edition.

 

Senate Joint Resolution 116, Declaring War Against Japan, 12/8/1941, Records of the U.S. Senate, Record Group 46.

 

U.S. Congress Joint Resolution signed by President Roosevelt on December 8, 1941 at 4:10 p.m., Public Law 77-328, 55 STAT 795, which declared war on Japan.

 

Pearl Harbor by the Numbers.

 

Attack on Pearl Harbor.