Attack on Pearl Harbor (37 page)

A captured Japanese photograph of Hickam Field and Pearl Harbor through a break in the clouds. In the upper left is the dark fuselage of a B5N Kate. Smoke is rising from Battleship Row, right, and from the
Shaw
in drydock, left.
Source: Naval Archives, Washington DC

Taken before the arrival of the second wave, this photograph shows
California
listing to port, with
Neosho
backing out into the channel.
Neosho
is at 75% load and is showing about 15 feet of freeboard amidships.
Neosho’s
bottom was about eight to ten feet above the harbor bottom. If she was sunk, some of her main deck and all of her superstructure would have remained out of the water.
Source: National Archives at College Park, MD

A Japanese bomber, identified as one of
Kaga’s
D3A Val dive bombers, shot down over Pearl Harbor and in the process of salvage. The long tube above the fuselage forward of the cockpit is the bombsight telescope. The bomber’s streamlining “spats” encasing the landing gear and tires have either been removed or were knocked off in the crash.
Source: National Archives at College Park, MD

Neosho
departing from her Ford Island berth prior to the arrival of the second wave, showing how visible this movement would have been to newly arriving aircraft. Note also the very heavy layer of cloud cover arriving from over the mountains in the background. Smoke is coming out of
California
apparently due to a fire on the main deck starboard side. Many small boats and craft are near the battleships—over 20 boats and craft are visible. Had the dive-bombers attacked Battleship Row, bomb misses would have sunk many of these boats.
Source: Naval Archives, Washington DC

This photograph shows
Neosho
nearing the center of the channel. The burning oil from Battleship Row that will eventually engulf
California
is beginning to move south with the current. The cloud cover is prominent.
Source: National Archives at College Park, MD

Burning oil drifts toward
California
. The oil totally obscures
Neosho’s
former berth. Any Japanese photograph taken at this time might lead them to believe that the oiler had been sunk.
Source: Naval Archives, Washington DC

West Virginia
, sunk, is sitting on the harbor bottom outboard of
Tennessee
. Most of
West Virginia’s
main deck and all of her superstructure remain above the water. Had
Neosho
been sunk, her superstructures would have similarly remained visible.
Source: Naval Archives, Washington DC

The fuel oil storage tanks adjacent to the Submarine Base. Note the tank dikes, sized to contain the entire contents should a tank rupture. Some of the tanks have been camouflaged with simple paint patterns. One tank is painted to look like a building.
Source: Naval Archives, Washington DC

A view of the Naval Shipyard during wartime. The piers are adjacent to the industrial area encompassing nearly 500 acres. To the upper right is the southern end of Battleship Row, with one berth occupied by an
Essex
class carrier.
Source: Naval Archives, Washington DC

The controversial “midget submarine in the picture,” shot from a Japanese bomber. The Japanese caption: “Thanks to the blessings of heaven and the will of the gods the sky opened up suddenly over the Hawaiian Naval Base of Pearl Harbor, and below our eyes were ranged in rows the enemy’s capital ships.” After describing the type and class of each ship in detail, the caption continued: “Our Sea Eagles’ determined attack had already been opened, and a column of water from a direct torpedo hit on a Maryland Class is rising. On the surface of the water concentric waves are traced by the direct torpedo hits, while murky crude oil flows out. The three bright streaks between the waves are torpedo tracks.” The Japanese examined the photograph closely and did not mention a midget submarine. American copies might be marred. Sailors in a launch caught in the photo near the splashes did not see a midget submarine.
Source: Naval Archives, Washington DC