WWII On This Day: December 7

December 7, 1940 · 06:00 · Operation Compass

The striking force moves toward the Italian camps

The forward movement began under RAF attacks on Italian airfields. Two concealed field supply depots west of Matruh shortened the haul for fuel, food and ammunition once the fighting opened. The striking force then crossed open desert toward the Nibeiwa–Rabia gap and assembled close to the camps. Surprise protected the movement: the British needed the main concentration in position before Italian air reconnaissance or ground patrols could identify the direction of the attack.

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December 7, 1941 · 06:10 · Attack on Pearl Harbor

The first wave is launched

Before sunrise the six carriers turned into the wind and began launching the first attack wave. More than 180 fighters, dive bombers, torpedo aircraft and level bombers formed over the task force before heading south. Mitsuo Fuchida led the formation. The operational problem was now one of timing: arrive together, split cleanly by target, suppress the airfields before American fighters could rise, and hit the battleships before the harbor could react.

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December 7, 1941 · 06:37 · Attack on Pearl Harbor

Ward attacks a Japanese midget submarine

USS Ward and a patrol PBY engaged a Japanese midget submarine trying to enter the defensive sea area. Ward opened fire and used depth charges; the submarine was sunk before the air attack began. The report moved slowly through the chain of command because the contact had to be confirmed. It was an authentic warning of hostile action, but it did not produce a fleet-wide air alert before the first wave reached Oʻahu.

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December 7, 1941 · 07:02 · Attack on Pearl Harbor

Opana radar sees the first wave

Privates Joseph Lockard and George Elliott detected an unusually large radar return roughly 137 miles north of Oʻahu. They tracked it southward and reported the contact to the temporary information center. Lieutenant Kermit Tyler believed the return was connected with a flight of B-17s expected from the mainland. Radar was new, the information center was lightly staffed, and no identification system converted the warning into an operational interception.

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December 7, 1941 · 07:05 · Attack on Pearl Harbor

The second wave begins launching

As the first wave continued south, the carriers turned into the wind again and launched the second attack group. This force was weighted toward dive bombers and high-level bombers and carried no torpedo-bomber element. Shigekazu Shimazaki led the second wave. Its job was to continue attacks against airfields and ships after the first strike had suppressed much of the American air force and damaged the battle line.

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December 7, 1941 · 07:40 · Attack on Pearl Harbor

The first wave crosses the North Shore and divides

The 183-aircraft first wave crossed the North Shore and split into target groups. The formation included 51 Aichi D3A dive bombers, 43 A6M Zero fighters and 89 B5N aircraft, of which 40 carried torpedoes and 49 carried heavy armour-piercing bombs. The map now separates the strike. Airfield groups turn toward Wheeler, Kaneohe, Ewa, Bellows, Hickam and Ford Island while the anti-ship groups continue toward the harbor.

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December 7, 1941 · 07:49 · Attack on Pearl Harbor

Fuchida orders the attack

Fuchida fired the flare signal for the attack and transmitted 'Tora, tora, tora' to report that tactical surprise had been achieved. A second flare, intended to ensure all groups had seen the signal, created some confusion over whether the attack should be simultaneous or sequenced. The error did not materially prevent the strike. The American airfields and harbor were still largely unprepared when the first bombs and strafing runs began.

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December 7, 1941 · 07:51 · Attack on Pearl Harbor

Wheeler Field is hit first

Dive bombers struck Wheeler Field, where much of the Army's pursuit force was based. Fighters had been parked close together as part of precautions against sabotage, which made the aircraft easier to guard but also easier to destroy from the air. Hangars, parked P-36s and P-40s and support facilities were bombed and strafed. The attack aimed to prevent the one American force capable of reaching the Japanese bombers quickly from getting into the air.

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December 7, 1941 · 07:53 · Attack on Pearl Harbor

Kaneohe's patrol aircraft are caught on the ground and water

Japanese fighters and bombers attacked the PBY Catalina patrol squadrons at Kaneohe. Burning aircraft and hangars removed much of the long-range naval search capability from the eastern side of Oʻahu. Chief Aviation Ordnanceman John Finn improvised a machine-gun position in the open and continued firing despite multiple wounds. He later received the Medal of Honor.

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December 7, 1941 · 07:55 · Attack on Pearl Harbor

The torpedo attack reaches Battleship Row

Low-flying B5N torpedo aircraft entered the harbor while level bombers approached above them. The modified Type 91 aerial torpedoes ran shallow enough to work inside Pearl Harbor, defeating an assumption that the harbor's depth would offer substantial protection. Oklahoma and West Virginia took repeated torpedo hits; Nevada, California and other ships were also struck. At the same time, Ford Island and nearby aircraft were being bombed and strafed.

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December 7, 1941 · 07:58 · Attack on Pearl Harbor

The fleet warning goes out: this is no drill

The warning 'AIR RAID PEARL HARBOR X THIS IS NOT DRILL' was transmitted as ships began bringing anti-aircraft guns into action. Crews opened ammunition lockers, broke out machine guns and tried to establish communications through smoke and confusion. The reaction became progressively stronger, but the most damaging part of the first wave was already underway.

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December 7, 1941 · 08:06 · Attack on Pearl Harbor

Arizona's forward magazines explode

A heavy bomb penetrated Arizona near the forward magazines. The resulting explosion destroyed the forward part of the battleship and killed 1,177 officers and crew, the largest single loss of life in the attack. The blast became the defining image of Pearl Harbor, but it was one part of a wider strike hitting ships, airfields and support facilities across southern and central Oʻahu.

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December 7, 1941 · 08:30 · Attack on Pearl Harbor

Welch and Taylor get fighters into the air

Lieutenants George Welch and Kenneth Taylor reached Haleiwa, where a small group of fighters had been dispersed away from Wheeler. They took off in P-40s and engaged Japanese aircraft over Oʻahu. Other American pilots and crews also managed to get aircraft airborne, but the response was improvised and numerically small. By the time fighters were operating, the first wave had already inflicted most of its decisive damage.

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December 7, 1941 · 08:45 · Attack on Pearl Harbor

The first wave withdraws and a brief lull opens

The first attack wave began withdrawing north after roughly fifty minutes over the island. The battleship line had been shattered and several airfields were burning. The lull was short. American crews used the minutes to bring more anti-aircraft guns into action, move ammunition and fight fires before the second wave arrived.

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December 7, 1941 · 08:54 · Attack on Pearl Harbor

The second wave arrives into a much stronger defence

The second wave reached Oʻahu after the brief lull. It found a battlefield transformed by smoke, fires, alert anti-aircraft crews and a small number of American fighters now operating from dispersed fields. The second strike inflicted additional damage, especially on airfields, dry-dock targets and the moving Nevada, but it did not reproduce the surprise and concentrated effect of the first wave.

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December 7, 1941 · 09:05 · Attack on Pearl Harbor

Nevada gets underway

Despite a torpedo hit and bomb damage, Nevada got underway and headed down the channel. Her movement made the battleship conspicuous to the second wave. Japanese dive bombers concentrated on the ship, partly because sinking a battleship in the narrow channel could obstruct the harbor entrance. Nevada continued toward Hospital Point under fire.

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December 7, 1941 · 09:10 · Attack on Pearl Harbor

Nevada is beached before she can block the channel

Harbor control ordered Nevada out of the main channel after the battleship suffered further bomb damage. She was grounded at Hospital Point rather than risk sinking in the entrance. The channel remained usable, which mattered immediately for rescue and later for the enormous salvage and repair effort that returned most damaged ships to service.

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December 7, 1941 · 09:45 · Attack on Pearl Harbor

The second wave withdraws

The second-wave aircraft began leaving Oʻahu shortly before 10:00. Japanese losses were concentrated disproportionately in this phase because surprise had gone and anti-aircraft fire was much heavier. The raid had lasted less than two hours. The air groups now had to navigate north to the moving carrier force, rendezvous and recover while American search aircraft began looking for the attackers.

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December 7, 1941 · 10:00 · Attack on Pearl Harbor

The attack ends; the harbor becomes a rescue and salvage battlefield

The air attack was over, but fires, flooding, unexploded ordnance and trapped sailors turned the harbor into a rescue operation. Small craft moved between burning ships while crews counter-flooded, fought fires and searched wreckage. The shallow harbor that had increased vulnerability also made later salvage possible. All but Arizona, Oklahoma and Utah among the major sunk or damaged ships were eventually repaired or returned to useful service.

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December 7, 1941 · 12:00 · Attack on Pearl Harbor

Nagumo withdraws without launching a third strike

After recovering the attack groups, Nagumo withdrew. The carriers did not rearm for a third strike. Their orders had emphasised surprise, the whereabouts of the American carriers were unknown, and Nagumo judged the principal mission complete. The fuel tank farms, submarine base and most repair facilities at Pearl Harbor therefore survived. Their survival proved important, but claims that a third strike would certainly have destroyed them or changed the war rest on counterfactual assumptions about target vulnerability, aircraft losses, rearming time and American resistance.

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December 7, 1944 · 07:30 · Aachen and the Hürtgen Forest

The Rangers take the observation hill

Companies D, E and F of the 2nd Ranger Battalion assaulted the Burgberg above Bergstein, known to the Americans as Hill 400. The summit provided observation across the Roer valley and the surrounding approaches. The Rangers captured the crest and held it through repeated counterattacks and sustained mortar and artillery fire until relieved.

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