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

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

Second World War

Caught off guard: why didn’t America see Pearl Harbor coming?

The USS West Virginia burns at Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941

Second World War

What if… Japan hadn't attacked Pearl Harbor

Firemen tackling a blitz fire at St Paul's Cathedral, London

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Pearl Harbor attack

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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)

Second World War

Why December 1941 was the most important month of the Second World War

The battleship USS California following the attack at Pearl Harbor

Second World War

12 things you (probably) didn’t know about Pearl Harbor

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)

Pearl Harbor aftermath: the fallout from the attack

Lauren Bruner and Iyozo Fujita

Second World War

Pearl Harbor: 5 frontline stories from people who were there

A mushroom cloud over Nagasaki, Japan

Second World War

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The Pearl Harbour attack

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John Buckley and James Holland next to a fighter plane at the Imperial Museum, London

Second World War

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American president Franklin D Roosevelt

Second World War

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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)

Second World War

The shock of Pearl Harbor

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Second World War

The attack on Pearl Harbor and physics through the ages

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)

Second World War

Britain’s Pearl Harbor