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December 7, 1941

Photograph taken from a Japanese plane during the torpedo attack on ships moored on both sides of Ford Island. View looks about east, with the supply depot, submarine base and fuel tank farm in the right center distance. A torpedo has just hit USS West Virginia on the far side of Ford Island (center). Other battleships moored nearby are (from left): Nevada, Arizona, Tennessee (inboard of West Virginia), Oklahoma (torpedoed and listing) alongside Maryland, and California. On the near side of Ford Island, to the left, are light cruisers Detroit and Raleigh, target and training ship Utah and seaplane tender Tangier. Raleigh and Utah have been torpedoed, and Utah is listing sharply to port. Japanese planes are visible in the right center (over Ford Island) and over the Navy Yard at right. Japanese writing in the lower right states that the photograph was reproduced by authorization of the Navy Ministry. U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph.

On this day in 1941, Japan launched a surprise attack on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, causing immense devastation. The attack killed 2,402 people, sank four U.S. battleships, and destroyed 188 U.S. aircraft. In response, the U.S. declared war on Japan, marking the beginning of its involvement in World War II. The assault, deemed a war crime due to the lack of a declaration, prompted U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt to declare it “a date which will live in infamy.” The attack’s focus on battleships, outdated in modern warfare, ultimately proved a strategic error for Japan.

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