World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseIn Jun 1940, US President Franklin Roosevelt moved the American Pacific Fleet from San Diego, California on the west coast of the United States to Pearl Harbor in the Territory of Hawaii as a response to Japan's aggression toward China, followed by the embargo of vital raw materials to the newly industrialized Japan. Meant to coerce Japan to back off from her aggressive policies toward her neighbors, these moves instead tempted Japan to escalate the situation. The advancing of the Pacific Fleet was viewed as the most current of a long series of insults on Japanese pride, while the embargo only tempted the Japanese to secure South Pacific islands rich with oil, rubber, tin, and tungsten for themselves.

ww2dbaseAdmiral Isoroku Yamamoto, whose personal opinion was against a war with the United States, was tasked with constructing the very war plan. He was confident that he could engineer a devastating attack on the US Navy, but he also believed that unless Japan had a way to march her armies straight to Washington, it was not wise to engage in war with US for an extended period of time due to the vast US industrial potential. In Oct 1941, the Japanese naval general staff gave final approval to Yamamoto's general plan of attack. In Nov 1941, Yamamoto added Pearl Harbor to the list of targets. Yamamoto's strike plan for Pearl Harbor, with contribution from Commander Minoru Genda, involved six fleet carriers, thus making it the largest carrier strike in history. The plan called for multiple waves of attack, systematically targeting and destroying specific ships, airfields, aircraft, and drydocks. In order to effectively use torpedoes in the shallow harbor, the torpedoes were fitted with fins so that they would run closer to the water's surface without diving into the mud. Yamamoto assigned the task of attacking Pearl Harbor to Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo. A total of 24 vessels supported the six aircraft carriers in its journey from Hitokappu Bay in the Kurile Islands in northern Japan toward Hawaii via a northern route on 26 Nov 1941.

ww2dbaseIn the basement of the Pacific Fleet headquarters building in Hawaii, Joseph Rochefort and his intelligence team had been tasked with keeping an eye on the disposition of Japanese warships for months, with much of the information sourced from intercepted radio messages. Events such as the Japanese changing warship call signs twice in a short period of time, the increased level of radio message encryption, and the sudden disappearance of at least four fleet carriers from US knowledge (his team had mistakenly placed one or two Japanese carriers in the Marshall Islands) made him suspicious of Japanese intentions. While he faithfully reported his findings, which all pointed to war, to Commander-in-Chief of the Pacific Fleet Admiral Husband Kimmel on a daily basis, he also noted his sentiment, one that was shared by most others at Pearl Harbor and Washington, that Pearl Harbor was safe from Japanese attacks for the time being. Vice Admiral William Pye, the commanding officer of the Battle Fleet, was among those who expected war to break out in Asia rather than in Hawaii, thus there was no need to send his battleships out to sea to avoid being caught in an air attack.

ww2dbaseWhen the Japanese fleet departed from the Kurile Islands, Nagumo had ordered any non-Japanese vessel that came in contact with the strike fleet to be quickly destroyed before they could send out any warning. On 5 Dec 1941, the Japanese fleet came across Russian transport Uritsky, carrying US-built M2 medium tanks and other war materials, sailing toward Vladivostok, Russia. All guns of the Japanese fleet were trained on the transport, but Nagumo, reneging on his previous order, chose to let Uritsky go, for he knew the top officials at Tokyo wished to maintain the non-aggression pact between the Soviet Union and Japan. It was never proven, but some sources indicated that the Uritsky did indeed radio Soviet authorities of the finding, and the Soviets notified the Japanese fleet that if Uritsky was to be spared, the Soviet Union would not report the incident to anyone, namely, the United States. Had this exchange really taken place, it appeared that both sides held their ends of the bargain; Uritsky arrived at Vladivostok safely, while the Japanese fleet sailed otherwise undetected across the northern Pacific. Some speculated that the Soviet silence might be due to Moscow's wish for the United States to enter the war, thus putting direct pressure on Germany while keeping the Japanese occupied.

ww2dbaseOn 7 Dec 1941, the first contact of the battle was made by United States Coast Guard ship Condor at 0350 hours less than 2 miles southwest of the Pearl Harbor entrance buoys. After receiving visual warning from Condor at 0357 hours, destroyer USS Ward began patrolling the harbor entrance. At 0637 hours, Ward sighted the periscope of a Japanese submarine. Ward attacked the area with depth charges as destroyer USS Monaghan set sail to join her in the submarine hunt. At 0740 hours, a telephone call was made to Kimmel's office, reporting the submarine contact, but nothing material came out of that report.

ww2dbaseA few minutes before 0800 hours, the Japanese aircraft arrived over Hawaii. When the large cloud appeared on the radar screen, the US Navy radar crew dutifully called in this finding, but the radar men were told by US Army officers that they were probably seeing a group of B-17 bombers scheduled to arrive later on this day. At 0755 hours, the now-well-known message "ENEMY AIR RAID - NOT DRILL" was sent from the Navy Yard Signal Tower as the incoming aircraft began dropping their bomb load.

ww2dbaseThe first targets were air fields. Dive bombers dropped bombs (mainly incendiary) and strafed Hickam Field and the Naval Air Station on Ford Island. Many American aircraft were caught on the ground. At 0758 hours, "AIR RAID, PEARL HARBOR. THIS IS NOT DRILL!" was broadcast to all ships in the area. At about the same time, another group of aircraft attacked the battleships moored on the south side of Ford Island in the center of Pearl Harbor. The torpedoes and bombs hit with precision, detonating USS Arizona's forward ammunition magazine, engulfing the ship in a fierce ball of fire. Anti-aircraft gunfire commenced very quickly after Japanese aircraft were sighted, while larger caliber weapons took anywhere from three to seven minutes before they began firing.

ww2dbaseBetween 0825 hours and 0840 hours, Japanese aircraft continued to dominate the skies over Pearl Harbor, although bombing activities largely ceased.

ww2dbaseAt 0840 hours, 30 Japanese high level bombers appeared, mostly still targeting battleships, along with 18 dive bombers. Damage from this second wave of attack was reported as "serious".

ww2dbaseWith careful planning on part of Yamamoto and his staff, and perfect execution of Nagumo and his air command, the surprised Americans suffered greatly as few larger warships escaped unharmed. Battleship USS West Virginia sank very quickly, and battleship USS Oklahoma capsized before sinking. The bomb hit suffered by USS Arizona at 0810 hours would take the lives of 1,000 sailors. Battleships USS California, USS Maryland, USS Tennessee, and USS Nevada all suffered various degrees of damage during the raid. At 0830 hours, Nevada attempted to get underway, but realized if she was sunk at the harbor opening she would block the harbor entrance, thus she was ultimately beached at nearby Hospital Point.

ww2dbaseBy 0940 hours, most Japanese aircraft had left the vicinity, but American anti-aircraft fire continued to fire at any sign of hostile movement; tense atmosphere led to a few friendly fire incidents where US fighters that finally got a chance to take off were shot down. By 1000 hours, the skies over Pearl Harbor were clear. Final tally revealed that five of eight battleships at Pearl Harbor were sinking, sunk, disabled, or heavily damaged. A total of 21 US ships were sunk. 188 aircraft were destroyed, and 159 were damaged. Over 2,400 American were killed (this figure includes civilian deaths of 68 caused by friendly fire, killed by US anti-aircraft shells that landed in the city of Honolulu). The Japanese suffered only 29 aircraft shot down and 5 midget submarines sunk.

ww2dbaseWhile the attack was devastating, the US Navy would later realize that it could have been worse. While Vice Admiral Pye's decision to keep the battleships in port meant they were sitting ducks for the Japanese air attack, had he sailed the warships out of the harbor, there would have been a possibility that they would be attacked at sea, and the ships would be forever lost instead of merely sinking in shallow waters and allowed the possibility of refloating. US fleet carriers, all of which would play critical roles in later chapters of the war, were far from Pearl Harbor, thus removed from harm.

ww2dbaseImmediately after the attack, the Americans made an attempt to launch a counterattack against the Japanese fleet. Mistaking that the Japanese had attacked from the south, USS Enterprise was ordered to sail in that direction to intercept. Naturally, the US carrier found nothing and returned empty-handed. Many historians speculated, however, that had she been sent in the right direction, she would be no match for the powerful Japanese fleet and would probably be sunk.

ww2dbaseStaying on the theme of counterfactual history, there were criticisms against Nagumo for not launching a third strike on Pearl Harbor to destroy port facilities and fuel stores, for doing so would eliminate Pearl Harbor as a viable naval base, thus forcing the US Navy to fall back to bases on the west coast of the United States. Had Nagumo actually launched a third wave of attack, Japanese doctrine dictated that the warships that had survived the first two waves of attacks to be targeted, thus making this criticism invalid.

ww2dbaseOn the diplomatic side, Japan was supposed to declare war on the United States precisely 30 minutes before the attack started. However, due to decryption difficulties, the Japanese embassy was not able to deliver the message until the attack had already started. Making the most out of the situation, President Roosevelt announced to the American public that the attack was a sneak attack, thus able to rally the previously isolationist country to fully participate in war in order to seek revenge.

ww2dbaseAdmiral Kimmel and his US Army counterpart Lieutenant General Walter Short were made the scapegoats, shouldering the blame for the devastation. Nine investigations were conducted, finding Kimmel and Short guilty of dereliction of duty. Their names would not be cleared by the United States Senate until 1999, after both of them had passed away, but the Department of Defense continued to place blame on Kimmel and Short.

ww2dbaseNiihau Incident
7-13 Dec 1941

ww2dbaseDuring the Pearl Harbor attack planning, Japanese naval leadership designated the Hawaiian island of Niihau as the designated location to land damaged aircraft that could not fly back to their carriers. A submarine was to be dispatched to pick up any downed pilots on that island. It was thought that the island was uninhabited when in fact it had a small population of 136.

ww2dbaseOn 7 Dec 1941, Japanese Navy pilot Airman 1st Class Shigenori Nishikaichi from carrier Hiryu, who had taken part in the second wave of the Pearl Harbor attack, crash-landed his damaged A6M2 Zero fighter on Niihau. When he came down, he was merely 20 feet from resident Hawila Kaleohano who was completely unaware of neither international politics between Japan and United States nor the Pearl Harbor attack that had just taken place. He took Nishikaichi's pistol and documents, and then helped him out of the damaged aircraft. Nishikaichi was treated with a party in the late afternoon, as he was a rare guest on this remote island. Meanwhile, the islanders sent for first-generation Japanese-American Ishimatsu Shintani to act as translator; Shintani was aware of the attack, and only exchanged a few words with Nishikaichi before leaving. The islands then sent for Yoshio Harada and his wife Irene, both second-generation Japanese-Americans. The Haradas were not aware of the attack beforehand, and Nishikaichi shared the news; the Haradas decided not to translate that portion to the islanders to prevent panic or anger. Nishikaichi asked Kaleohano to return the documents that Kaleohano had taken from him previously, but Kaleohano refused.

ww2dbaseLater in the evening of 7 Dec, the islanders learned of the attack via radio, and only at this time Harada shared what Nishikaichi had told him earlier regarding the attack. The islanders decided that on the next day, when the island's owner Aylmer Robinson would have arrived for his weekly visit, Robinson would escort Nishikaichi to the proper authorities. On the next day, Robinson failed to arrive to the surprise of the islanders, nor did he visit in the following few days; unbeknownst to them, a ban on boat traffic had been implemented due to the state of war. Nishikaichi had stayed with the Haradas during those days (with guards outside the residence).

ww2dbaseAt 1600 hours on 12 Dec, Shintani approached Kaleohano on behalf of Nishikaichi with $200 in cash, asking to purchase Nishikaichi's documents. Kaleohano rejected the offer. Yoshio Harada and Nishikaichi, without waiting for Shintani's return, attacked the lone guard outside of the house as Irene Harada played music with a loud volume to cover up any noise of struggle. They retrieved a shotgun and Nishikaichi's pistol from a warehouse, and then locked the guard in the same warehouse building. Harada and Nishikaichi went to Kaleohano's house to demand the papers; they could not find Kaleohano, who had saw them coming, with weapons, and decided to hide in the outhouse. After a few minutes, Harada and Nishikaichi gave up looking for Kaleohano, and headed for the downed plane. It was when Kaleohano decided it was his chance to flee. As he made a dash, he was discovered by Harada and Nishikaichi, who yelled "Stop! Stop!" and fired a warning shot, and Kaleohano kept running, and got away. Kaleohano reached the village and warned of the situation, joined shortly by the guard who had escaped the warehouse. The islands evacuated the village. Kaleohano, who still had possession of the documents at the time, gave the documents to a relative for safekeeping before setting out on a ten-hour paddling trip by boat to the nearby island of Kauai to see Robinson. Meanwhile, Nishikaichi reached his aircraft, made contact with the Japanese Navy, and then proceeded to set the aircraft on fire to avoid its capture by American authorities. At 0300 hours on 13 Dec, Harada and Nishikaichi burned down Kaleohano's house, hoping that the documents that Nishikaichi desperately tried to recover were hidden somewhere inside.

ww2dbaseAt Kauai, Robinson was already hinted of trouble on Niihau when other islanders tried to signal him with lanterns and reflectors, but he was denied visit the island due to the ban on boat travel.

ww2dbaseAfter day break on 13 Dec 1941, Harada and Nishikaichi kidnapped islander Beni Kanahele and his wife Ella. They kept Ella Kanahele as hostage, and ordered Beni Kanahele to bring back Kaleohano. Kanahele, who knew Kaleohano had already left the island, pretended to make a search. When he returned in failure, Harada said that Nishikaichi would kill Ella, along with others from the village, if Kaleohano was not found. During that conversation, Kanahele attacked Harada and Nishikaichi. Kanahele grabbed the shotgun, and Nishikaichi attempted to retrieve his pistol from his boot, but Ella grabbed his arm and slowed him down. Pushing Ella aside, Beni Kanahele shot Nishikaichi three times with the shotgun, then picked him up and threw him against a wall. To ensure his death, Ella Kanahele bashed Nishikaichi with a rock, followed by Beni Kanahele's slashing of Nishikaichi's throat. Witnessing the attack, Harada grabbed the shotgun that Kanahele had just set aside, shooting and killing himself.

ww2dbaseOn 13 Dec, Kaleohano's party reached Kauai, and brought back Robinson and military authorities. Irene Harada and Shintani were taken into custody. Irene Harada was imprisoned for 31 months, having released in Jun 1944. Shintani was sent to an internment camp in the continental United States, but returned to Niihau after the war.

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65.  David Stubblebine says:
19 May 2014 10:52:04 PM

To Widebody747 #26:
More to the point, your premise is incorrect. The two carriers that were at sea during the Pearl Harbor attack each had a proper compliment of screening vessels.

Enterprise, on her way to Wake, was screened by cruisers Salt Lake City, Northampton, and Chester and destroyers Gridley, Craven, McCall, Maury, Dunlap, Fanning, Benham, and Ellet.

Lexington, on her way to Midway, was screened by cruisers Chicago, Portland, and Astoria and destroyers Porter, Mahan, Drayton, Lamson, and Flusser.

This is exactly what would be expected of a carrier screen during pre-war 1941. There is nothing here (or anywhere else) to suggest the US had prior knowledge of the details of attack or somehow baited Japan into war. Sorry the actual history conflicts with your wishes for what you wanted the history to be.

72.  Alan Chanter says:
30 Dec 2019 06:09:52 AM

The United States Department of the Interior reported that 53 civilians were killed during the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 - 24 of these had Japanese surnames.