The attack by the second Japanese Wave

THE ATTACK BY THE SECOND JAPANESE WAVE

The second wave of 170 Japanese aircraft was launched from the carriers at 7.15 a.m. and reached Oahu at 8.50 a.m., about thirty minutes after the first wave had completed its attack and headed back to the carriers. The Americans had now had time to organise a defence and the second wave of Japanese aircraft went in at 8.55 a.m. against fierce anti-aircraft fire. Dive bombers attacked the flagship of the Pacific Fleet, the old battleship USS Pennsylvania (launched 1915), where it rested in a dry dock but caused only minor damage. The USS Maryland, sister ship to West Virginia, was anchored inboard of Oklahoma, and suffered only minor damage from bombs. The dive bombers then turned their attention to the battleship USS Nevada which had managed to get steam up and was trying to reach the harbor entrance. Nevada was severely damaged and had to be beached to avoid blocking the deep channel to the sea.

The US destroyer Shaw explodes during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

The high level bombers concentrated their attacks on military air fields. The second attack ended at 9.55 a.m. and all Japanese aircraft returned to their carriers. Whether due to an error of planning or the obsessive concentration of the Japanese pilots on destruction of American battleships, which would obviously carry great prestige, neither attack wave had seriously damaged the vital dry docks, ship repair facilities, fuel storage tanks and ammunition dumps that serviced the Pacific Fleet and kept it operating. These omissions would prove to be a grave mistake by the Japanese.

Admiral Nagumo had no idea where the American aircraft carriers were at this time, and after weighing up the risks of a third strike, he decided to withdraw his carriers to Japan. He has been criticised by some Japanese for excessive caution, but it needs to be remembered that Japanese intelligence had led the admiral to believe that there were four American aircraft carriers based at Pearl Harbor, when in fact there were only two on 7 December 1941.

American and Japanese losses on 7 December 1941

Of the eight American battleships in Pearl Harbor when the Japanese launched their infamous "sneak attack" on 7 December 1941: Arizona was completely destroyed; Oklahoma capsized and was sold for scrap; California and West Virginia were sunk upright, and were returned to service in 1943 and 1944 respectively; Nevada was returned to service in 1942; Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Tennessee were lightly damaged, and able to be returned to service before the end of 1941. The broken hull of Arizona now rests on the bed of Pearl Harbor and is the site of a national war memorial. In addition to the battleships, two light cruisers were damaged, and three destroyers were badly damaged. About 200 Navy and Army aircraft were destroyed. Including civilian victims, 2,403 Americans died in the two Japanese attacks and 1,178 were wounded. The Japanese lost only 29 aircraft.

PACIFIC WAR BRIEFING NOTES

STAGE ONE OF A PACIFIC AVIATION MUSEUM OPENED AT PEARL HARBOR, HAWAII, ON 7 DECEMBER 2006.

At 8.00 am on 7 December 1941, at a time when the United States and Japan were at peace, the Japanese launched a surprise air attack on the United States Pacific Fleet anchored at its Pearl Harbor base in Hawaii. This treacherous attack was not preceded by a formal declaration of war, and took place when Japanese diplomats were in Washington discussing American concerns about continuing brutal and unprovoked Japanese military aggression in East Asia. These diplomatic discussions were intended by the Japanese to distract the attention of Americans while Japan secretly positioned a powerful aircraft carrier striking force off the Hawaiian islands. The Japanese had carefully planned their attack on Hawaii to take place on a Sunday morning, knowing that American military preparedness would be at its lowest ebb on a Sunday. Of the eight American battleships anchored in Pearl Harbor at the time of this dastardly attack, USS Arizona and Oklahoma were destroyed; California and West Virginia were sunk upright; and the other four were damaged. About 200 US Navy and Army aircraft were destroyed. American losses were 2,403 dead and 1,178 injured. Japan formally declared war on the United States several hours after the last Japanese aircraft had returned to its carrier and when the Japanese striking force was returning to Japan.

Read about the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, and the events that led to it, on this web-site, and visit the new Pacific Aviation Museum at Pearl Harbor to view film, dioramas, historic Pacific War aircraft, and artifacts. Learn more at the web-site of the Pacific Aviation Museum. The author of this web-site will visit the Pacific Aviation Museum in May 2007 and provide a full report of that visit on this web-site in a new chapter to be devoted to Pacific War Museums and exhibits.

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