ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the Pearl Harbor attack and its implications. The actual losses that day, Day of Infamy, included the battleships Oklahoma and Arizona. The explosions had suffered more than half of the American casualties of December 7. The battleships West Virginia, California, and Nevada, the only battleship to get underway that day, were sunk or beached. The battleships Tennessee, Maryland, and Pennsylvania registered severe damage, as did the cruisers Helena, Honolulu, and Raleigh, the destroyer Shaw, the seaplane tender Curtis and the repair ship Vestal. One hundred eighty-eight American planes were destroyed on the ground and 159 damaged. To achieve these staggering blows, the Japanese paid a minimal price–twenty-nine planes, including nine fighters, fifteen dive bombers, and five torpedo planes. Other losses included one large submarine and five midgets.
