What allowed the American Pacific Fleet to survive the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor?
1 Answer
The attack occurred in relatively shallow water, allowing many of the damaged ships to be repaired and later returned to service.
Explanation:
The attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941, dealt a major psychological blow to the United States, and caused the deaths of many servicemen. However, regarding damage to the fleet itself, the attack wasn't a crippling blow.
First, some of the ships in the Pacific Fleet were out to sea, and were unaffected by the attack.
While many of the ships moored in Pearl Harbor were damaged to some degree, the shallow water of the harbor allowed for the recovery and repair of almost all of them. Only three ships - the battleships Arizona and Oklahoma, and the target ship Utah - were total losses (the Utah survived the attack but sank later while being towed towards a repair location).
All other ships that were hit during the attack (a total of 29) were repaired and returned to service. Additionally, 69 ships moored in the harbor weren't even hit during the attack.
