Pearl Harbor

On 7 December 1941, a deadly surprise attack on the US Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor by Japanese planes sank or damaged 21 warships and destroyed more than 150 planes on nearby airfields. The attack, which was launched without a declaration of war, killed more than 2,000 Americans

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The destroyer USS Shaw explodes in a massive fireball at Pearl Harbor, 7 December 1941. The attack led almost immediately to Germany declaring war on America, and so brought Stalin an unexpected ally of colossal potential power, says Laurence Rees. (Bettmann/Getty Images)

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The battleship USS California following the attack at Pearl Harbor

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Pearl Harbor sparked an aircraft-manufacturing drive – and, for the first time, allowed US women to perform jobs previously held only by men. (Photo by Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

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Lauren Bruner and Iyozo Fujita

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Mixed signals: A shortwave radio listening post in California, set up to report and translate broadcasts from Asia. (Photo by AP/Shutterstock)

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A mushroom cloud over Nagasaki, Japan

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The USS Arizona burning in Pearl Harbor following the Japanese attack. To the left of her are USS Tennessee and the sunken USS West Virginia. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

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The shock of Pearl Harbor

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A Japanese photograph shows Mitsubishi dive bombers warming up on the deck of a carrier in the Pacific before their attack on Pearl Harbor in the early hours of 7 December 1941. (Photo by Corbis via Getty Images)

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Britain’s Pearl Harbor

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