10 Facts About Pearl Harbor

Many of us are unaware that the actual name of the lagoon given by the native Hawaiians is Wai Momi which translates as “Pearl Waters,”. Legend says the shallow embayment area on Oahu was once filled with Oysters that produced pearls.

Besides, the name also came from Puʻuloa, meaning, “long hill” by the native Hawaiians. Per their belief, Puʻuloa was a sacred place as it was home to the legendary Shark Goddess, Kaʻahupahau, and her brother (or son), Kahiʻuka.

With time, the name of the lagoon became famous as a bay with pearls later renowned as Pearl Harbor.

A fun fact about Pearl Harbor is that it is a military base built in 1887 after seeking permission to establish a military base on the harbour with then Hawaii’s King Kalakaua.

But the naval base was built and used during military operations and major wars after the United States claimed Hawaiian Island as their state in 1900.

From the 1990s till now, many of the naval submarined and ships are maintained at the harbour.

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Though it was revealed and confirmed after 60 years of the attack. The truth is that American soldiers fired the first shot and sank a Ko-hotel-class midget submarine near the entrance to the harbor, making it the official first shot fired by the country in a quest to stop the harbor from being attacked.

The first of many Pearl Harbor facts many people don’t realize is that they’d sunk the submarine for over 60 years. On the fateful day of December 7th, 1941, a minesweeper Condor spotted the Japanese submarine's periscope above the water and opened fire on the intruder and alerted the crew.

But unfortunately, the reports from the ward were disbelieved and discounted by the Navy brass which they paid dearly for.

Japanese admiral Isoroku Yamamoto planned to take over certain Southeast Asia countries to use their oil to help fuel Japan’s military vehicles and naval fleet.

He didn’t want to fight with the United States, but Pearl Harbor was close to these countries, and Yamamoto worried they’d defend the Asian nations if they were attacked. So, he moved forward with a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. 

As the attack was a surprise to the American navy, it was hard for them, to contemplate as the ambush was coming from all directions. It took a while for the defenders to identify the direction of the fire as the Japanese were shooting wave after wave, targetting airstrips, ships, buildings, and storage areas.

Not only aircraft and vessels, there were dive bombers, torpedo bombers, and high-level bombers dropping their deadly loads across Oahu. These waves of ambush took a heavy toll on the United States battleships.

The attack on Pearl Harbor began at 7:55 am HST on Sunday morning when the Japanese fleet launched their aircraft to the north of Hawaii which consisted of the following-

• 67 Ships – 6 heavy aircraft carriers, two heavy cruisers, 35 submarines, two light cruisers, nine oilers, two battleships, 11 destroyers
• 353 Aircraft – 40 torpedo planes, 103 level bombers, 131 dive-bombers, 79 fighters.

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The USS Arizona & Battleship Missouri proudly served their country for decades before being anchored near each other in the harbor. The Battleship Missouri is anchored in the bay whereas the USS Arizona is resting below the waves of the harbor where it blew up and sank during the Japanese ambush.

This is the main attack that pushed the United States to WW 2. On the other hand, Battleship Missouri, launched in 1944, is a veteran that shelled Iwo Jima and Okinawa before sailing into Tokyo Bay marking the formal surrender of Japan.

This means USS Arizona marks the start of the infamous war where as Battleship Missouri represents the end of it.

During WWII, the Japanese forces planned to use their vessel for a number of tasks before and during the Pearl Harbor ambush. They had a big plan to penetrate the harbor's defence before the Japanese bombers and fighter planed carried their agendas to the north.

Per their plan, as the attack from the air started, they were set to release torpedoes at prime targets and escape back out of the channel which didn't turn out as planned.

Initially, the Japanese had planned to station their vessel in pre-designated spots on the island after the attack, in order to receive any pilots who weren't able to make it to their carriers due to mechanical issues.

As their initial scheme failed to come into action, one such pilot got stranded on Island Niihau, who unfortunately got stranded as his submarine had long left its position.

The Arizona and Oklahoma were damaged beyond repair by bombs or torpedo hits in the surprise attack on the Battleship Row. 

Incredibly, crews were able to repair the remaining damaged ships which were able to return to the sea with the exception of U.S.S. Arizona, Utah, and Oklahoma.

Although these ships were wrecked beyond repair, it was a huge relief to the country when other ships such as California, West Virginia, and Nevada sank upright in the shallow water of the harbour which were later salvaged and returned to the battlefield.

On the other hand, many of the vessels did not return to the battlefield for years despite having repairable damage.

But the Battleship Missouri fought many battles in WWII like the battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa. Eventually, the vessel shelled the Japanese home island, helping to bring the end of WWII.

It is now anchored on the bay as a memorial.

This was the primary reason behind the attack on Pearl Harbor was to protect the invasion of the southern resource area.

The tension between Japan and the United States had been mounting for over a decade by the time the first Japanese ambush occurred over the harbour which made the war inevitable.

Back then, Japan's naval forces were dependent on the US to supply industrial resources like oil. Without the help, Japan's forces would be significantly impaired, which led Japan to target countries in Southeast Asia that are rich in minerals and oils.

While planning for the attack, Japan was already sure this invasion would lead to a great war with America as the US would interfere in its plan to access Southeast Asia, which Japan called the “Southern Resource Area.”

It was then the plot to destroy America's, Pacific Fleet came to action.

It is world known fact that the United States was not a part of the war until the attack on Pearl Harbor took place. With the Japanese invasion, the US could no longer avoid the ongoing feud and had to participate in it.

On December 8, the very next day of the attack, U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt urged Congress to approve his declaration of war and thus the declaration was made the very same day.

As a consequence, the allied countries of Japan such as Italy and German declared war against the USA and hence, two years after the actual start of the conflict, the United Sated finally entered World War II.

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