Pete Hill
Two-seater Pilot
Registered: January 2006
Location: Murtoa Vic. Australia
Posts: 147
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The attack on Battleship Row, Pearl harbour, Dec 7th, 1941. Most of the damage was done in the opening ten minutes of the assault, especially the enormous loss of life on board the Battleships Arizona and Oklahoma. These two ships, along with the target ship Utah, were the only ships that were total losses of the 18 warships sunk or damaged. The remainder were eventually repaired and returned to active service before the war ended. In contrast, every single Japanese vessel involved with the operation, including submarines and support vessels, was destroyed by the end of the war.
The Nakajima B5N2 Kate was the plane that did the most damage that day, both as a torpedo and a level bomber. The first wave inflicted the bulk of the damage on the US Pacific base. The second wave's crews were disappointed with their efforts, hampered as they were by the smoke and heavier AA fire, scoring far fewer direct hits than they did during training exercises.
A total of 14 US army air-force fighters managed to get airborne and engage the enemy, shooting down ten of the attackers. In return, two of the American pilots were killed, another had to bale out and one lost his life to 'friendly' AA fire.
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