What route did the Japanese take to Pearl Harbor?

The Japanese attack force—which included six aircraft carriers and 420 planes—sailed from Hitokappu Bay in the Kurile Islands, on a 3,500 mile voyage to a staging area 230 miles off the Hawaiian island of Oahu.

How the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor?

At about 8 a.m., Japanese planes filled the sky over Pearl Harbor. Bombs and bullets rained onto the vessels moored below. At 8:10, a 1,800-pound bomb smashed through the deck of the battleship USS Arizona and landed in her forward ammunition magazine. The ship exploded and sank with more than 1,000 men trapped inside.

What events led to Pearl Harbor?

The relationship between Japan and the United States had soured in the years leading up to Pearl Harbor. This began with the Japanese invasion of Manchuria in 1931, an expansion throughout the Chinese mainland that led to the Second Sino-Japanese war between China and Japan in 1937.

What was the result of the attack on Pearl Harbor?

Japan’s surprise attack on Pearl Harbor would drive the United States out of isolation and into World War II, a conflict that would end with Japan’s surrender after the devastating nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945. At first, however, the Pearl Harbor attack looked like a success for Japan.

What caused tensions between Japan and the United States?

Tensions Began During the Great Depression Before the Pearl Harbor attack, tensions between Japan and the United States had been mounting for the better part of a decade. The island nation of Japan, isolated from the rest of the world for much of its history, embarked on a period of aggressive expansion near the turn of the 20th century.

Why did Japan want to go to war with the US?

To Japan, war with the United States had become to seem inevitable, in order to defend its status as a major world power. Because the odds were stacked against them, their only chance was the element of surprise.

Why did the Japanese bombers fail at Midway?

The Japanese bombers missed oil tanks, ammunition sites and repair facilities, and not a single U.S. aircraft carrier was present during the attack. In June 1942, this failure came to haunt the Japanese, as U.S. forces scored a major victory in the Battle of Midway, decisively turning the tide of war in the Pacific.