Atlas of Battles

battle, landmark, interwar and Second World War

Attack on Pearl Harbor

Attack on Pearl Harbor was a battle fought on 7 December 1941 at Pearl Harbor, in what is now Hawaii, United States. It was part of the South-East Asian theater of World War II, which ran from 1941 to 1945. The recorded result: Japanese victory.

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A navy photographer snapped this photograph of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii on December 7, 1941, just as the USS Shaw exploded. The stern of the USS Nevada can be seen in the foregrou
A navy photographer snapped this photograph of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii on December 7, 1941, just as the USS Shaw exploded. The stern of the USS Nevada can be seen in the foregrou. Unknown navy photographer, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought7 December 1941
WherePearl Harbor, Hawaii, United States21.365N, 157.950W
OutcomeJapanese victory
BelligerentsUnited StatesagainstEmpire of Japan
Part ofSouth-East Asian theater of World War II1941 to 1945

Where it sits in the South-East Asian theater of World War II

Attack on Pearl Harbor, 1941Sinking of Prince of Wales and Repulse, 1941Battle of Rabaul, 1942Arakan Campaign 1942–1943, 1942Battle of the Admin Box, 1944Siege of Myitkyina, 1944Battle of Ramree Island, 1945Battle of Hill 170, 1945Battle of Pokoku and Irrawaddy River operations, 1945Battle of Meiktila and Mandalay, 1945Japanese coup d'état in French Indochina, 1945Battle of the Sittang Bend, 194519411945Attack on Pearl Harbor, 1941
12 placed engagements of the South-East Asian theater of World War II in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date7 December 1941
PlacePearl Harbor, Hawaii, United States
21.365N, 157.950W
KindBattle, interwar and Second World War
Strength8 battleships; 8 cruisers; 30 destroyers; 4 submarines; 73 other ships; 390 aircraft6 aircraft carriers; 2 battleships; 2 heavy cruisers; 1 light cruiser; 9 destroyers; 8 tankers; 23 fleet submarines; 5 midget submarines; 414 aircraft (353 took part in the raid)
Casualties and losses4 battleships sunk; 4 battleships damaged; 1 ex-battleship sunk; 1 harbor tug sunk; 3 light cruisers damaged; 3 destroyers damaged; 3 other ships damaged; 188 aircraft destroyed; 159 aircraft damaged; 2,008 sailors killed; 109 Marines killed; 218 soldiers killed; 2,403 total military and civilians killed; 1,178 military and civilians wounded4 midget submarines sunk; 1 midget submarine grounded; 29 aircraft destroyed; 74 aircraft damaged; 129 killed; 1 sailor captured
Commanders
  • Husband E. Kimmel
  • Walter Short
Attack on Pearl HarborAttack on Pearl HarborBattle of NuʻuanuBattle of KepaniwaiBattle of KepaniwaiWahiawaLihue100 km21.365N, 157.950W
The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

The ground today

Relief of the ground around the site of Attack on Pearl Harbor
Relief within about 10.0 km of the site, contours every 25 m. Copernicus DEM GLO-30, ESA.
Satellite view of the site of Attack on Pearl Harbor today
The same ground from Sentinel-2 on 2023-12-09. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2023.

The recorded site stands at about 0 m; within 10.0 km the ground runs from -12 to 332 m, 344 m of relief, hilly country and today it is 35% built-up, 35% water, 14% grassland.

built-up: 35%water: 35%grassland: 14%tree cover: 12%bare ground: 3%built-up 35%water 35%grassland 14%tree cover 12%bare ground 3%
west to east, 10.0 km-2 to 104 mnorth to south, 10.0 km-2 to 109 m
Elevation from the Copernicus DEM GLO-30 (ESA, Airbus); land cover from ESA WorldCover 2021 (CC BY 4.0), within about 5 km of the recorded site. Computed, not recorded.

Nearest engagements

In the same war

Elsewhere in 1941

Attack on Pearl Harbor is one of 2,997 engagements of the 20th century in the atlas and one of 1,148 in present-day United States (6 in Hawaii).

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q52418, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Attack on Pearl Harbor, revision 1385522216, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.