Pearl Harbor: 74 years ago

74 years ago, on December 7, 1941, the Imperial Japanese Navy unexpectedly attacked the US naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. More than 350 Japanese planes swept over the base, firing at it and dropping bombs and torpedoes. Four battleships were sunk, four more were seriously damaged, in addition to them, the Japanese sank or damaged eight more ships. 188 American aircraft were destroyed, 2,402 people were killed and 1,282 more were injured. The next day, the United States declared war on Japan, officially entering into The Second World War.

This issue contains photos of that ill-fated day for the USA.

(32 photos in total)

1. Aerial view of a number of battleships in the first minutes of the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. (U.S. Navy)

2. Japanese dive bombers Type 99, D3A are preparing to take off from an aircraft carrier on the morning of December 7. The Soryu aircraft carrier is visible in the background. (U.S. Navy)

3. This photo from a Japanese film, later confiscated by American forces, was taken aboard the aircraft carrier Zuikaku, from which the Nakajima Kate B-5N bomber takes off for the second wave of the attack on Pearl Harbor. (AP Photo)

4. Japanese fighter "Zero" (A1−108) takes off from the aircraft carrier "Akagi". (U.S. Navy)

5. Aerial view of the first attacks on American ships. The photo was taken from a Japanese plane. In this raster reproduction of a photograph taken from a Japanese aircraft during torpedo attacks, ships from both sides are not visible. Honolulu can be seen to the southeast, and Diamond Head volcanic Cone can be seen to the right. Torpedoes have just blown up the warships "West Virginia" and "Oklahoma" from the far side of Ford Island. On its near side, to the left, the ships "Utah" and "Raleigh" have already been attacked. To the right of Ford Island, a hydroaerodrome is burning. (U.S. Navy)

6. Japanese Type 99 bomber in action. (U.S. Navy)

7. Aerial view of a line of battleships near Ford Island after Japanese planes dropped torpedoes. (U.S. Navy)

8. Airfield on Ford Island and fire from burning ships. (U.S. Navy)

9. Burning battleships off Ford Island after an attack by Japanese bombers. (U.S. Navy)

10. Anti-aircraft explosions over burning ships in Pearl Harbor. (U.S. Navy)

11. The ammunition of the American destroyer "DD 373 Shaw" exploded after an attack by Japanese fighters. (U.S. Navy)

12. A Japanese bomber over the American airfield of Pearl Harbor, where the ships are already burning. (AP Photo)

13. Burning battleships "West Virginia" (BB 48) and "Tennessee" (BB 43). (U.S. Navy)

14. A photo taken from a Japanese plane a few minutes after the first attack. Pay attention to the Japanese plane in the upper right corner above the Ford Island Air Base. (U.S. Navy)

15. A Japanese dive bomber engulfed in fire, shot down by anti-aircraft fire. (AP Photo)

16. Burning American ships. (AP Photo)

17. Sailors from the Kaneohe Air Base are trying to save the burning Catalina bomber after the Japanese attack. (U.S. Navy)

18. Shelled cars at the Kaneohe Airbase. (U.S. Navy)

19. The crew members of the warship "West Virginia" who escaped by boat. (AP Photo)

20. The Arizona warship, engulfed in fire and smoke, sinks into the sea. (AP Photo)

21. White House reporters rush to the phones, having just learned from the press secretary of the President Stephen T. Early that Japanese submarines and planes unexpectedly attacked the American fleet. (AP Photo)

22. Burning warship "California". (U.S. Navy)

23. Burning warship "Nevada" after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. (U.S. Navy)

24. Rescuers help save at least something from the Lunalilo school in Honolulu after a bomb fell on the roof of the building. (AP Photo/File)

25. Oil from damaged ships off Ford Island. (U.S. Navy)

26. Special editions of newspapers with news about the unexpected attack on Pearl Harbor were scattered in a matter of minutes. (AP Photo/Robert Kradin)

27. The attaches of the Japanese consulate in New Orleans burn documents, magazines and other records shortly after the Japanese attack on the United States. The police managed to extinguish the fire, but most of the documents were destroyed. (AP Photo/Horace Cort)

28. Damaged ships Casin and Downes after the attack. (AP Photo/U.S. Navy)

29. All that remains of American aircraft after the Japanese attack at Hickam airfield. (AP Photo)

30. The wreckage of a Japanese torpedo bomber was taken from the bottom of Pearl Harbor. (AP Photo)

31. One of the propellers of the battleship "Oklahoma" (BB 37), overturned after a surprise attack. (U.S. Navy)

32. The funeral of a Japanese lieutenant who crashed during the attack on Pearl Harbor, which American soldiers conducted according to all army laws. (AP Photo)