Pearl Harbor (10th Jan)

We had a fantastic day at Pearl Harbor, on our first full day in Hawaii. (Wednesday 10th Jan). We saw the 'Mighty Mo', the USS Missouri (on which the Japanese surrendered to General McArthur at the end of WW2), the air museum on the island's airfield, the USS Bowfin (submarine) and the Arizona memorial.

The Mighty Mo

14" Guns

On this spot........

WW2 came to an end after the US dropped the 2 atomic weapons

Here are some photos of the Pearl Harbor airfield

The picture below is the USS Oklahoma memorial

The USS Bowfin submarine was commissioned in the days after the Pearl Harbor raid, and was therefore viewed as an 'avenger'and the US Navy was proud that she survived the war.

Submarine warfare would not have been to my liking.....

Some other Pearl Harbor views:

The US naval budget gave 2% of its budget to submarines. It lost just over 50 submarines during WW2, but they accounted for 53% of Japanese shipping sunk during that period.

On the morning of 7th Dec 1941, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor in a surprise attack, killing some 2,400 US servicemen and civilians. Almost half of those (1,177) were on the USS Arizona, when an armour-piecing bomb went through the deck and exploded in the forward magazine. The immediate explosion ripped the ship apart, vapourising those killed instantly.

The Arizona memorial now sits on the hull of the ship which rests where it sank.

27 ships were sunk by bombs and torpedos during the raid just before 8am, which lasted barely 20 minutes. Roosevelt described 8th December as 'A day which will live in Infamy', and the US was plunged into WW2.

The hull of the Arizona is plainly visible beneath the water........

......and the 'black tears' of oil which seep from the hull still mingle with the water.

Pearl Harbor was a sad but poignant and very memorable day. As we say in the UK, "We will remember them".