Japanese Aircraft in the Attack
Japanese Aircraft in the Attack
The attack by the Japanese occured in two waves. With the first wave, the aircraft arrived just before 8 a.m., striking the Navy and Army airfields, ensuring counterattack by U.S. fighter planes would be reduced. At the same time, the aircraft attacked warships moored on both sides of Ford Island and the Navy Yard's 1010 dock. After 8:00 a.m., horizontal bombers attacked "Battleship Row", after which the first wave departed about a half-hour after it appeared. The second attack ave occurred about fifteen minutes after the first departed. For a little more than an hour, the Japanese aircraft damaged airfields, targets around the Navy Yard, and the battleship USS Nevada (BB-36). About 9:45 a.m, the second wave departed. Losses were light for the Japanese with only twenty-nine planes being lost. Due to the nature of the second wave facing more opposition, twenty planes were lost, considerably more than the nine during the first wave. Of note, a Japanese Type 00 Carrier Fighter, also known as a Mitusbishi A6M2, or "Zero", crashed on a remote island, providing U.S. intelligence a good resource source.
Image: 80-G-32952: Japanese Navy Type 99 Carrier Bomber, an Aichi D3A "VAL" during the attack on Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.
