Pearl
Harbor Facts
for kids
The following fact
sheet contains interesting facts and information on Pearl Harbor Facts
for kids.
Pearl Harbor
Facts for kids
Pearl Harbor
Facts - 1: Pearl Harbor is
located on the southern island of Oahu, Hawaii near
Honolulu. It was the location of the US naval base and
headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet that was bombed
by the Japanese, bringing the United States into WW2
Pearl Harbor
Facts -
2: Japan launched
their surprise attacked on Sunday morning, December 7,
1941. The US naval fleet was not prepared for the attack
and Japan and America were not at war.
Pearl Harbor
Facts - 3: In June 1940 President
Roosevelt ordered the US Pacific Fleet to move its main base in the
Pacific from San Diego, California to Pearl Harbor in the Hawaiian
Islands, as a deterrent to Japanese aggression. The move was risky
as it placed the US Pacific fleet within striking distance of
Japan's powerful navy
Pearl Harbor
Facts - 4:
Admiral Husband Edward
Kimmel, a four-star admiral in the United States Navy and
Commander-in-chief of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, was in command
at Hawaii. Ten days after the bombing of Pearl Harbor he was removed
from his command and reduced to the two-star rank of rear admiral.
Pearl Harbor
Facts - 5:
Lieutenant-General Walter C. Short was in charge
of U.S. Army defenses in Hawaii when the Japanese attacked Pearl
Harbor. He was also removed from command as a result of the attack.
Pearl Harbor
Facts - 6: The United States
was unprepared for the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor
at all levels and communication was sadly lacking. As a
consequence the US suffered the humiliating defeat at
the hands of the Japanese.
Pearl Harbor
Facts - 7: The armed forces
of Japan had superior equipment, were experienced in
combat and their military leaders were experts in the
planning of attacks due to their invasion of China and
Indochina.
Pearl Harbor
Facts - 8: The superiority of the Japanese in
1940 can be illustrated with the following facts:
● Japan had 10
Aircraft Carriers in the Pacific compared to the US who had
three
● Japan had 145 modern
destroyers and cruisers compared to the US
who had 74
Pearl Harbor
Facts -
9: Planning: Admiral
Isoroku Yamamoto was the commander-in-chief of the
Combined Japanese fleet and responsible for the
audacious plan for the Pearl Harbor attack. Yamamoto
expressed doubts about attacking the United States and
said "I fear we will awaken a sleeping giant."
Pearl Harbor
Facts - 10: The Japanese
attack on Pearl Harbor was timed to coincide with
attacks on the Philippines, Malaysia, Hong Kong and
Thailand. The majority of General MacArthur's aircraft
in the Philippines were destroyed by the Japanese on the same day
they attacked Pearl Harbor.
Pearl Harbor
Facts -
11: The Japanese
assault force on Pearl Harbor was planned to attack in
two waves, approximately 45 minutes apart, and consisted of six carriers with 423
planes, under the command of Admiral Nagumo. The six
Japanese aircraft carriers had traveled 3,400 miles
across the northern Pacific without discovery to their
final location 230 miles north of Oahu, Hawaii.
Pearl Harbor
Facts - 12: The first attack
wave consisted of 183 warplanes was led by Comdr. Mitsuo Fuchida
and included 51 dive bombers, 40
torpedo bombers, 50 high level bombers and 43 fighters.
The primary targets of the first attack wave were the eight US
battleships anchored at Pearl Harbor. Seven US battleships were
moored on Battleship Row along the southeast shore of Ford Island
and the USS Pennsylvania was in dry dock across the channel.
Pearl Harbor
Facts - 13: The second wave of
Japanese aircraft consisted of 35 fighters, 78
dive-bombers, and 54 high-altitude bombers whose
objective was to target US aircraft, other
ships and shipyard facilities.
Continued...
Pearl Harbor
Facts for kids
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Pearl Harbor
Facts for kids
Pearl Harbor Facts - 14:
All eight U.S. Navy
battleships were damaged and the Japanese
also sank or damaged 3 cruisers, 3
destroyers, an anti-aircraft training ship,
and one minelayer. A total of 188 U.S.
aircraft were also destroyed and a further
159 aircraft were damaged.
Pearl Harbor Facts - 15:
The attack on Pearl
Harbor resulted in the loss of 2,403
Americans including 68 civilians. The number
of Americans injured totaled 1,178 including
35 civilians.
Pearl Harbor Facts - 16:
The Japanese attack force
lost 29 planes and 5 midget submarines. 74
Japanese aircraft were damaged from
anti-aircraft fire from the ground. A rough
sea caused about 50 Japanese planes to smash
on carrier landings. The number of Japanese
deaths totaled 64.
Pearl Harbor Facts - 17:
The Japanese specifically
chose to attack early on a Sunday morning
knowing the military would be relaxed and
still eating breakfast at the time the
bombing commenced
Pearl Harbor Facts - 18:
The Japanese attacked the
US airfields at Hickam Field, Wheeler Field,
Ewa Field, Bellows Field, Schoefield
Barracks, and Kaneohe Naval Air Station.
Pearl Harbor Facts - 19:
The US airplanes were
closely lined up along the airstrips wingtip
to wingtip in order to avoid sabotage but
this made them easy targets for the Japanese
bombers. The position of the US airplanes
made it impossible to quickly launch
aircraft and made the aircraft easier to
destroy.
Pearl Harbor Facts - 20:
Commander Mitsuo Fuchida
issued the first wave Japanese attack order
by exclaiming the codeword "Tora! Tora! Tora!",
literally meaning "Tiger! Tiger! Tiger!" as
a message to the entire Japanese navy
indicating that they had surprised the
Americans with the lightning attack.
Pearl Harbor Facts - 21:
The three U.S. Pacific
Fleet aircraft carriers, the Lexington,
Enterprise and Saratoga, were not in the
Pearl Harbor port at the time of the attack
and so escaped any damage.
Pearl Harbor Facts - 22:
An 1,760-pound air bomb
penetrated into the forward magazine of the
USS Arizona battleship causing catastrophic
explosions leading to the deaths of 1,104
men and 1,178 wounded accounting for
approximately half of the losses during the
Pearl Harbor attack.
Pearl Harbor Facts - 23:
A series of mistakes by
the US military and communication blunders
were made at Pearl Harbor.
Pearl Harbor Facts - 24:
On December 2, 1941 the
U.S. received a warning that Admiral
Yamamoto was planning a Pacific attack, but
not when or where it would occur - explicit
war warnings were sent to all Pacific
commands but they focused on the Far East -
Pearl Harbor was not mentioned
Pearl Harbor Facts - 25:
At 06.45am the USS Ward
sunk a Japanese midget submarine outside the
entrance of Pearl Harbor and sent a message
to Naval Headquarters stating "We have
attacked, fired upon, and dropped depth
charges upon submarine operating in
defensive sea area." Admiral Kimmel decides
to "wait for verification of the report"
because there had been so many recent "false
reports of submarines"
Pearl Harbor Facts - 26:
At 07.02am the Opama
Radar Station on Oahu picked up a flight of
unidentified planes bearing in 132 miles
north of Oahu new radar equipment. The
information center at Fort Shafter assumes
that the flight is a group of 12 expected
American B 17 Flying Fortresses traveling
from California to the Philippines via
Hawaii and responds with "Don't worry about
it."
Pearl Harbor Facts - 27:
The Japanese made a
crucial error that day when Admiral Nagumo
canceled the third wave of its air assault
which was part of the original plan. The
Japanese left the naval base's oil tanks
undamaged and the extensive repair and
support facilities intact which allowed the
US Navy to re-float and repair most of the
ships damaged that day and allowed Pearl
Harbor to continue to operate as a fully
functional naval base.
Pearl Harbor Facts - 28:
A famous hero who served
with distinction in the attack on Pearl
Harbor was African-American
Doris "Dorie" Miller who was a Messman
Third Class on the USS West Virginia. "Dorie"
Miller went above and beyond the call of
duty during the attack on Pearl Harbor when
he took control of an unattended machine gun
and used it in defense of the base. "Dorie"
Miller was subsequently awarded the Navy
Cross.
Pearl Harbor Facts - 29:
News of the devastating
attack on Pearl Harbor reached the American
people via radio broadcasts on Sunday
afternoon leaving the nation angry and in
shock.
Pearl Harbor Facts - 30:
The devastating results
and the shock of the "sneak attack" on Pearl
Harbor without the expected "fair play" of a
declaration of war galvanized American's
determination to avenge the attack. The
United States declared war on Japan on
December 8, 1941 and America began its fight
in WW2 and the
US Mobilization for WW2
Pearl Harbor
Facts for kids
Facts
about
Pearl Harbor for kids:
For visitors interested in the history of
the attack on Pearl Harbor refer to the following articles:
Pearl Harbor Facts for kids - President Franklin Roosevelt Video
The article on the Pearl Harbor Facts provides detailed facts and a summary of one of the important events during his presidential term in office. The following
Franklin Roosevelt video will
give you additional important facts and dates about the political events experienced by the 32nd American President whose presidency spanned from March 4, 1933 to April 12, 1945.
Pearl Harbor Facts
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Interesting Facts about Pearl Harbor Facts for kids and schools
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Pearl Harbor Facts for kids
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Pearl Harbor Facts about important, key
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Franklin Roosevelt
Presidency from March 4, 1933 to April 12, 1945
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Fast, fun facts about the Pearl Harbor Facts
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Foreign & Domestic
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