“a day which will live in infamy”
– FDR in subsequent address to the nation
Three hundred fifty three Japanese aircraft from six aircraft carriers (plus five midget submarines) attack Oahu, Hawaii harbor and airfields beginning at 7:48 A.M. Hawaii time… Eighteen American ships were sunk, including five battleships…2,310+ American servicemen and 56+ civilians were killed…185 American aircraft destroyed.
Author: Had the Japanese sunk 5 aircraft carriers instead of 5 battleships, the subsequent war against Japan may have looked messier in American history books. But none of America’s 5 aircraft carriers were in Pearl at the time of the attack. A lucky—and crucial—break for the US Navy. For, the “era of the aircraft carrier” had arrived; and the Japanese war planners had initially not necessarily fully grasped its overarching dimensions.