Japan's (Forgotten) Submarine Attack at Pearl Harbor
An hour before the air attack, a squadron of tiny Japanese midget submarines attempted to slip into Pearl Harbor's defenses.
Here's What You Need to Know: Unlike the aerial attack, the submarines failed spectacularly.
On Dec. 7, 1941, the aircraft of the Imperial Japanese Navy rained devastation upon the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. But Japanese warplanes didn’t actually fire the first shots that brought America into a massive Pacific War.
An hour before the air attack, a squadron of tiny Japanese midget submarines attempted to slip into the harbor’s defenses, like burglars in the night, to wreak havoc on Battleship Row. Unlike the aerial assault, the sailors failed spectacularly — and the story is often forgotten.