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The attack on Pearl Harbor
Japan attacks the US Pacific Fleet in Hawaii
Japanese aircraft attacked the US naval base at Pearl Harbor, killing more than 2,400 Americans. The next day the United States declared war on Japan and entered World War II.
The attack began shortly before 8 a.m. Hawaii time on Sunday, December 7, 1941, when carrier-launched Japanese aircraft struck in two waves at the US Pacific Fleet on Oahu. Eight US battleships were hit, and several were sunk or heavily damaged, including the USS Arizona, where a large part of the dead were killed. Many aircraft were also destroyed on the ground.
Total US deaths are usually given as about 2,400, including some civilians, with well over a thousand more wounded. The Pacific Fleet's aircraft carriers were at sea and were not hit, which affected the course of the later war.
On December 8, President Franklin D. Roosevelt asked Congress to declare war, describing the date as one 'which will live in infamy'. Congress approved the declaration almost unanimously the same day. Germany and Italy then declared war on the United States a few days later.
The raid ended the strong isolationist mood in the US and brought the country fully into World War II. The US Navy later raised and repaired several of the damaged ships, while the Arizona remains on the harbor floor as a memorial.