14 Little-Known Facts About The Attack On Pearl Harbor

There's more to Pearl Harbor than just what the textbooks tell us.

Published 2 weeks ago in Wow

On December 7th, 1941, the Japanese attacked the American naval base at Pearl Harbor in what became America’s entry into World War II. We all learned about it in history class, along with most of the facts, but there are some things the teacher never told us.

From prophetic books to mysterious advertisements, there's more to Pearl Harbor than just what the textbooks tell us. Take a look, and learn some of the lesser-known facts about this historic tragedy.

1
A mysterious ad for a board game may have been a coded warning
An ad for a board game called ‘Deadly Double’ depicted people in an air raid shelter playing dice. The dice are labeled 12 and 7– December 7th. The game and company never existed, and all investigations into the origins of the ad led to a dead end.

2
Some Japanese wanted to warn the US, but were thwarted by a single officer
The message that the Japanese treaty negotiations were over (a vague declaration of war) was delayed by a single Japanese army officer in the cable office who made it so that the message wouldn’t come through until after the attack had started. He also delayed last-minute efforts by Roosevelt to cable Hirohito (the Japanese emperor) directly to negotiate peace.

3
Admiral Yamamoto had traveled around the United States
Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, the architect of Pearl Harbor, had previously served as a military attaché in Washington, and had traveled across the United States.
4
The majority of American service members killed were juniors
The Navy officers mostly lived in houses, while the junior enlisted men (age 17-18) were relegated to the boats, and so most affected by the attack.

5
Out of the frying pan, into the fire
In order to escape sinking ships, many sailors jumped overboard into huge oil fires that had formed on the surface of the water.
6
There was a second attack on Pearl Harbor
The Japanese attempted to attack Pearl Harbor a second time with ‘Operation K’, on March 4th, 1942. This time around, radar saw them coming, and the bombers had to divert and drop their bombs harmlessly into the ocean.
7
The Japanese war plan was inspired by a prophetic book
Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto came up with the attack on Pearl Harbor. He was inspired by the 1925 book The Great Pacific War by Hector Bywater, a detailed account of a fictional future war between the US and Japan.

8
Japan is now the largest source of international tourists to Hawaii
To this day, Japanese people visit the memorial at Pearl Harbor in droves to pay their respects. Japan is now one of America’s strongest allies.
9
The USS Arizona still leaks fuel today
The day before the attack, the USS Arizona took on a full load of fuel: almost 1.5 million gallons. Much of that fuel ignited during the attack, but up to 9 quarts of oil still spill into the harbor from the wreckage of the Arizona even today. Some people call this phenomenon “black tears”.
10
Pearl Harbor wasn’t the best tactical target
Japan focused on destroying American battleships because they thought the war would be decided by them. But their attack left American aircraft carriers untouched (they were out to sea) as well as leaving the majority of navy repair yards, oil tank farms, and submarine bases intact. This allowed the American forces to easily rebuild and bounce back.

11
Japanese submarines were originally supposed to play a major role
The Japanese forces planned to use submarines to sneak into the harbor and provide torpedo support to the ships and planes. One was sunk by an American destroyer and others had issues entering the harbor, so the plan didn’t quite pan out.
12
The attack on Pearl Harbor lasted for only one hour and fifteen minutes.
That’s less than half the length of the movie Pearl Harbor! The Pearl Harbor attack began at 7:55am, with wave after wave of 67 ships and 353 aircraft arriving, until it ended at just 9:10am.
13
Americans fired the first shot
On the morning of December 7th, 1941, the USS Ward attacked and sank a Japanese submarine near the entrance of the harbor after noticing its periscope. This was not only the first shot that day, but the first American shots of the war. The Navy brass discounted and ignored the USS Ward’s reports, and paid the price. The ship’s crew didn’t even get confirmation they’d sunk the sub for over 60 years.

14
One month after the attack, 134,000 Americans enlisted in the military
The attack on Pearl Harbor sparked a strong wave of patriotism and anger, and led to a huge amount of Americans joining up. This allowed the Navy to build many boats quickly.