Pearl Harbor

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses the attack on the U.S navy fleet in Pearl harbor, by the Japanese in 1941. The paper begins by describing the geography of Pearl harbor and how it came into the possession of the United States. The paper then goes on to discuss the relationship between the U.S. and Japan during World War II and what lead up to the attack at Pearl harbor. The paper concludes with the results of some of the investigations into the attack, as well as the immediate responses by world leaders at the time.

From the Paper:

" Later after the attack, investigators discovered that the first contact with the Japanese forces, wasn't made through the air, but took place on the sea. On 7 December, more then an hour before any enemy planes were sighted, an American patrol bomber and the destroyer Ward attacked and sank an unidentified submarine in the restricted waters close to the entrance to Pearl Harbor. The vessel was one of one of the five submarines which were sent to break the Pacific Fleet's fort. The Japanese attack, didn't gave the Americans much time to evaluate the significance of the submarine sighting. The first group of planes was already on its way to Oahu, before The Ward fired the first charge. The Japanese carrier force launched the first group at 6:00 a.m., when the ships were approximately 200 miles north of Pearl Harbor. A second strike group took off at 7:15 a.m. when the carriers had reached a position 30 miles closer to the American base. Although the radar set on the island picked up the approaching planes in time to give warning, the report of the sighting was believed an error and disregarded, and the Japanese fighters and bombers appeared unannounced over their objectives."

Sample of Sources Used:

• The historical context of Pearl Harbor attack from "The attack on Pearl Harbor (Cornerstones of Freedom. Second Series), by Tom McGowen (Library Binding - Sep 2002)
• Reports of the survivors from the Internet at: http://www.history.navy.mil/docs/wwii/pearl/survivors.htm
• Pearl Harbor history from the Internet: http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/events/wwii-pac/pearlhbr/pearlhbr.htm

More papers on Pearl Harbor:

• Book Review # 127193 : "The True Story of Pearl Harbor"
• Analytical Essay # 120881 : "Pearl Harbor Speech"
• Descriptive Essay # 5290 : "Pearl Harbor Aftermath"
• Essay # 70932 : "Pearl Harbor"

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