The facts on Pearl Harbor speak for themselves. Over 2,400 people were killed during the attack and eighteen American ships suffered damage.
The Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor with a force of 423 planes based on three aircraft carriers. The entire fleet of thirty ships went relatively undetected throughout its journey to Hawaii.
The entire attack lasted less than four hours and resulted in the sinking of 21 out of 96 of the ships anchored in the harbor.
Out of nearly 400 fighter planes sitting at airbases on the island 188 were destroyed and another 159 damaged.
An often forgotten fact is that in addition to the aerial bombings six Japanese midget submarines participated in the attack. One was sunk by the USS Ward as it attempted to sneak into the harbor just a few hours BEFORE the aerial attack started.
The Aftermath of the Japanese Attack On Pearl Harbor:
In the four years after the attack all but three of these sunken ships were repaired, refitted, and returned to active duty.
The Japanese had incorrectly assumed that if they could cripple the US Pacific Fleet that the country as a whole would be demoralized and significantly set the country back as they struggled to rebuild. Instead, the attack solidified the emotions of the people and led to the eventual fall of the Japanese Empire.
The United States entered the war as a strong fighting force within just sixty days after the Pearl Harbor bombing, a far cry from the six to eighteen months expected by the Japanese.
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