FEATURE ARTICLE

Hmmm.  There is something not quite right about this.  Exposed film deteriorates to practically nothing in a few months if not processed soon after exposure.  These images are 'way too perfectly exposed to have lasted 65 years -- in fact, you could say they are 'way too perfectly exposed for a Brownie camera. 

I'd bet these were taken with a Graflex 4x5 or a Speed Graphic press camera of the time, and the resulting prints were very carefully archived to preserve their tonality.  The 6th picture shows improper trimming in the upper left hand corner of the print.  Also, if you look at the 13th picture, in the upper right area of the image, you will see text printing through the image.  This indicates printing on the back of the print when it was scanned into the computer, and if the picture was not so well exposed (and not showing halftone dots), I would have suggested it was a newspaper photo. 

This suggestion is also supported by the fact that a number of the prints are marked the way photo editors mark them, with numbers in the lower right or lower left of the image.  I think these were original prints purloined from some newspaper photo morgue.  Maybe they were from a sailor who was on the USS Quapaw ATF-110, but I'd lay odds they were published shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor.  Anyway, they are great pictures, and I'm going to post them to my list. - Don Cline

 

http://www.snopes.com/photos/military/pearlharbor.asp 

 

Pearl Harbor  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pearl Harbor

On Sunday, December 7th, 1941 the Japanese launched a surprise attack against the U.S. Forces stationed at Pearl Harbor , Hawaii . By planning his attack on a Sunday, the Japanese commander Admiral Nagumo, hoped to catch the entire fleet in port. As luck would have it, the Aircraft Carriers and one of the Battleships were not in port. (The USS Enterprise was returning from Wake Island , where it had just delivered some aircraft. The USS Lexington was ferrying aircraft to Midway, and the USS Saratoga and USS Colorado were undergoing repairs in the United States )
 
In spite of the latest intelligence reports about the missing aircraft carriers (his most important targets), Admiral Nagumo decided to continue the attack with his force of six carriers and 423 aircraft. At a range of 230 miles north of Oahu , he launched the first wave of a two-wave attack. Beginning at 0600 hours his first wave consisted of 183 fighters and torpedo bombers which struck at the fleet in Pearl Harbor and the airfields in Hickam, Kaneohe and Ewa. The second strike, launched at 0715 hours, consisted of 167 aircraft, which again struck at the same targets.
 
At 0753 hours the first wave consisting of 40 Nakajima B5N2 "Kate" torpedo bombers, 51 Aichi D3A1 "Val" dive bombers, 50 high altitude bombers and 43 Zeros struck airfields and Pearl Harbor Within the next hour, the second wave arrived and continued the attack.
When it was over, the U.S. losses were:
 
Casualties
USA : 218 KIA, 364 WIA.
USN: 2,008 KIA, 710 WIA.
USMC: 109 KIA, 69 WIA.
Civilians: 68 KIA, 35 WIA.  

 TOTAL: 2,403 KIA, 1,178 WIA.
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Battleships
USS Arizona (BB-39) - total loss whe n a bomb hit her magazine.
USS Oklahoma (BB-37) - Total loss when she capsized and sunk in the harbor.
USS California (BB-44) - Sunk at her berth. Later raised and repaired.
USS West Virginia (BB-48) - Sunk at her berth. Later raised and repaired.
USS Nevada - (BB-36) Beached to prevent sinking. Later repaired.
USS Pennsylvania (BB-38) - Light damage.
USS Maryland (BB-46) - Light damage.
USS Tennessee (BB-43) Light damage.
USS Utah (AG-16) - (former battleship used as a target) - Sunk.
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Cruisers
USS New Orleans (CA-32) - Light Damage..
USS San Francisco (CA38) - Light Damage.
USS Detroit (CL-8) - Light Damage.
USS Raleigh (CL-7) - Heavily damaged but repaired.
USS Helena (CL-50) - Light Damage.
USS Honolulu (CL-48) - Light Damage..
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Destroyers
USS Downes (DD-375) - Destroyed. Parts salvaged.
USS Cassin - (DD-37 2) Destroyed. Parts salvaged.
USS Shaw (DD-373) - Very heavy damage.
USS Helm (DD-388) - Light Damage.
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Minelayer
USS Ogala (CM-4) - Sunk but later raised and repaired.
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Seaplane Tender
USS Curtiss (AV-4) - Severely damaged but later repaired.
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Repair Ship
USS Vestal (AR-4) - Sever ely damaged but later repaired.
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Harbor Tug
USS Sotoyomo (YT-9) - Sunk but later raised and repaired.
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Aircraft
188 Aircraft destroyed (92 USN and 92 U.S. Army Air Corps.)