Pearl Harbor: Accidental or Political :: essays research papers

Sunday morning, December 7, 1941, Nipponese bombers, superstar planes, and torpedo planes attacked the American naval base at Pearl Harbor. This thieve attack plunged the United States into World War II. The first wave, consisting of 183 planes, arrived at virtually 750AM. They had taken off from aircraft carriers about 200 miles to the northwest, a perish commanded by Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo (Thomas 3). The Japanese goal was to destroy the ships on Battleship Row and the airplanes on the ground at the Naval vent Station, Wheeler, and Hickam Airfields. Because it was a Sunday morning, most of the 780 antiaircraft guns were not manned. Many war machine personnel were on shore for the weekend and hundreds of others were still asleep on their ships. Did the U.S. Government know about the attack beforehand? Why were the warn signs not more deeply investigated?The Naval Air Station, Wheeler, and Hickam Airfields were the first to be hit by the Japanese to ensure the US had n o king to fight back. 212 of the fleets grounded airplanes were hit, and the 53 that were able to take off were shot ingest in the attack. The U.S.S. Oklahoma, West Virginia, Arizona, California, and Nevada were five of the 19 sunken or alter U.S. ships. In the midst of the attack, 2,403 American military personnel were killed including the 1,177 forever entombed in the Arizona. Another 1,178 were wounded. The U.S. did not inflict much damage to the Japanese during the attack. The Japanese only lost one midget submarine and 29 planes 20 were kamikaze missions, 2 were mechanical malfunctions, and only 7 were shot down.December 8, the chairman of the United States, Franklin D. Roosevelt, addressed Congress and the American people. "Yesterday, December 7, a pick up which will live in infamy-the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by the naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan" Congress say war on Japan, and the US was dragged into World Wa r II (Thomas 5).The warning signs of the attack were there, but werent investigated. The 3 major warning signs that the Japanese were passing to attack were the "East undulate Rain" message, the unidentified submarine, and the radar signals. On the morning of Dec 4, 1941 Naval Officer Ralph T. Briggs was on watch at the Cheltenham, MD, intercept station, when he received the startling and unexpected "East Wind Rain" message.