On what date did Japan attack Pearl Harbor?

Japan attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. The Imperial Japanese Navy launched a surprise strike against the United States Pacific Fleet at its base on Oahu, Hawaii, bringing the United States directly into the Second World War.

The attack began shortly before 8 a.m. Hawaiian time and arrived in two major waves launched from six Japanese aircraft carriers. Japanese aircraft targeted battleships, airfields, aircraft, and other military facilities. The battleship USS Arizona exploded and sank, suffering the heaviest loss of life in the attack.

The United States reported 2,403 people killed and 1,178 wounded. Although several battleships were damaged or sunk, the American aircraft carriers were away from the harbor, and key repair facilities and fuel-storage installations survived. Those details helped the U.S. recover more quickly than Japan had expected.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt called December 7 “a date which will live in infamy.” The United States declared war on Japan on December 8; Germany and Italy declared war on the United States three days later.