Pearl Harbor Facts – 42 Interesting Facts About Pearl Harbor

Facts about Pearl Harbor

The Japanese were able to cripple the US airplanes, and they were not able to mount any counter-attack on the Japanese bombers which attacked in waves.

Most of the planes were placed wingtip to wingtip as a security measure against sabotage. However, this made them sitting ducks for the Nippon bombers.

The airfields at Hickam Field, Wheeler Field, Bellows Field, Ewa Field, Schoefield Barracks, and Kaneohe Naval Air Station were hit.

The Japanese attack was timed for Sunday because of the belief that Americans take the day off and relax on Sundays.

The highest casualties were recorded aboard Arizona ship when a bomb exploded in its ammunition room. 1100 US servicemen onboard lost their life.

The USS Arizona had taken its full load of fuel, and this proved to be its nemesis as it caused a massive fireball. However some fuel remained intact, and it still leaks today, during the tides.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt asked the Congress to declare war on Japan, and his request was approved with only one dissenting vote. The single dissenting vote was of   Representative Jeannette Rankin of Montana, a pacifist.

The Japanese were not able to destroy any aircraft carrier of the US Navy as none of them were present in Pearl Harbor at the time of attack

The aircraft carrier proved to become the backbone of the offensive campaign against the Japanese forces later in the war.

2,335 U.S. servicemen lost their lives, 1143 were wounded. 68 civilians were also killed, and 35 were injured. The Japanese lost 65 men, and one soldier was captured.